


Cross Your Heart and Hope To Die

by baeconandeggs, Chanology



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Action, Alternate universe - Mafia, Drug Use, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Mentions of Violence, Minor Character Death, Romance, Smut, Swearing, age gap
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-10
Updated: 2020-05-10
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:14:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,898
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24115585
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baeconandeggs/pseuds/baeconandeggs, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chanology/pseuds/Chanology
Summary: Who knew an accidental glance would get Baekhyun trapped in a world he didn’t ask to be in.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Kim Jongin | Kai/Oh Sehun
Comments: 84
Kudos: 428
Collections: BAE2020





	Cross Your Heart and Hope To Die

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt:** BAE123  
>  **Disclaimer: baeconandeggs/the mods is/are not the author/s of this story. Authors will be credited and tagged after reveals.** The celebrities' names/images are merely borrowed and do not represent who the celebrities are in real life. No offense is intended towards them, their families or friends. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this fictional work. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> **Author's Note:** Hello, it took me 6 months to churn this story out, but I completed it! I would like to thank my friends who helped me through this process, cheering me on and pushing me to keep going till the end. I appreciate all of you. I would also like to thank my wonderful beta reader, without you my story would be a shell of what it is today, so thank you from the bottom of my heart! And dear prompter, I hope I wrote closely to what you wanted, I tried my best! I hope you readers enjoy my story!
> 
> twitter: @parkdrugyeol

Baekhyun’s life was mundane. 

Slim fingers dashed across the keyboard as Baekhyun typed up his essay. Being a university student wasn’t easy, it was a lot of staying up past midnight writing essays and not being able to enjoy weekends because he had so many assignments to finish. This has been Baekhyun’s life for the past year and a half, a seamless cycle.

He has never worked this hard in his life for something he didn’t really want to pursue. He thought working the seven-hour shifts at his previous part-time job that ended at midnight was tiring. The fast-food restaurant he worked at used to consume all his energy in high school. He eventually got fired because he made showing up late a habit.

Baekhyun never knew what he wanted to be while growing up. All throughout high school, the boy struggled to figure out what he enjoyed. It seemed nothing interested him. In his senior year of high school, he settled on becoming a criminal lawyer because they are paid well. Now he is finally walking the path to becoming one in the near future. 

The only obstacle in his way these days are the books he reads for pleasure, romantic ones especially. Baekhyun has always yearned to find someone who makes him forget how to speak. Someone who takes his breath away, someone who makes him happy. Despite never being in a relationship in his past twenty one years of living, he’s a hopeless romantic. 

As Baekhyun’s mind drifted from his work, he glanced at the time on his laptop. It was a couple of hours before midnight and Baekhyun’s roommate and best friend, Kyungsoo, hadn't come back yet from a party. Baekhyun doesn’t understand how Kyungsoo has free time to party and enjoy the weekend, especially being a computer science student. 

Running his hands through his brown hair, he sighed. He just wanted a break from all the work, all the typing, and all the thinking. Criminology is a hard subject to study and if he wanted to make it to law school he’d have to maintain perfect grades—which requires hard work. 

Baekhyun tossed a pen that was lying on his desk at the wall, stress was catching up to him. As he was stretching his limbs, his phone buzzed on the desk. 

_ Soo: This is Kyungsoo’s friend Jongin, he’s drunk off his ass rn and isn’t able to come home tonite he did mention to text u and ask u to deliver a bag of sugar to the coffee shop for tomorrow  _

Baekhyun groaned. He wondered why Kyungsoo’s friend couldn’t do it himself. The brunet still had an essay to finish for Monday. Although it would be a nice break, a short and mundane break is needed to keep Baekhyun sane. Kyungsoo owes him. 

_ Baekhyun: Tell Kyungsoo he owes me! Take care of him too! Make sure you get him to brush his teeth before he sleeps otherwise he will wake up ready to kill someone. _

The boy got up and walked to his roommate’s room, opening a drawer and grabbing the shop keys. Kyungsoo worked part-time at a local coffee shop in Seoul. It was small and not busy, unlike the other coffee shops in the area. Baekhyun was thinking of applying for it too since he doesn’t have a job yet. It would be nice to have some extra money, after all his only source of income was Kyungsoo who generously provided for him. He’d have to pay his friend back one day. 

The brunet put his black hat on that covered his face while he slipped his shoes on, already enveloped by a sweater so the cool air wouldn’t nip at his skin. The coffee shop was a twenty-minute walk away and since Baekhyun didn’t want to waste gas money, he decided to suck it up and walk the distance. 

As soon as he stepped out of the apartment building he was met by the chilly air of the night, it was calming.

Baekhyun and Kyungsoo lived in a fairly dangerous part of Seoul. Various break-ins have happened during the year, a lot of people went missing and ended up dead, robberies were also common. Walking around the city at this time of the night was not smart, but Baekhyun needed to clear his head and deliver sugar for his friend. 

With the bag of sugar in his hand, he walked along the dim streets. There were cars still driving on the road, some people still walking around. Some drunk, some sober. Seoul was a city that never sleeps. Nothing new. 

The living city left his view as he turned down an alleyway. This was the quickest route to the shop but it was much scarier at night. He couldn’t see the flower pots that people placed and nurtured, he couldn’t see the colourful graffiti on the brick walls, he could only see darkness. 

As he turned the corner down another dim alley, he was abruptly stopped in his tracks. Baekhyun was frozen in fear, he should’ve driven his car. In the dim flickering light was a man getting beat up by a taller man. Horrid screams left the victim’s mouth as he pleaded for his suffering to end. The frantic screams sent shivers down Baekhyun’s spine—it sounded straight out of a horror movie. 

“Please stop!” The guy screamed. “I’ll pay you, I promise!”

The taller guy punched him across the face and pushed him to the ground. A chuckle left his lips as he towered over him, pulling something from his jacket. 

“You should’ve paid us sooner buddy, we don’t give extensions to random addicts,” the tall man stated, pointing a gun at the beaten guy’s head. 

“No, please! Have mercy!” A silent bullet pierced through the guy’s head, leaving him dead and limp on the ground in a pile of his own blood. The man remained towering over the now lifeless man staring at him with empty eyes that carried no remorse. 

A phone broke the silence, Goofy Goober Rock blasted through the speakers. It was Baekhyun’s phone. Jongdae was calling him. He quickly turned his ringer off but when he looked up the man was already looking right at him. Baekhyun knew he was fucked. 

As soon as the tall man started running towards him he threw the bag of sugar in his direction and ran the other way, hoping to have hit him. Baekhyun ran for his life but soon realized how out of shape he was because he started to become tired. The burning in his lungs expanded, slowing him down, his limbs felt like jelly. He couldn’t go any further. He’d have to try to talk it out. 

“What do you want?!” Baekhyun exclaimed, out of breath as he turned around to face the tall man. When he did, he was pushed hard against the cold brick wall. The killer threw his hat off his head, making Baekhyun’s hair fall in front of his wide eyes. 

“I’ll act as if I didn’t see anything! I just need to get to my friend’s shop please!” Baekhyun cried, his life flashing before his eyes. His two best friends filled his mind as he panicked. They were the only people he had.

Baekhyun started shaking as tears rolled down his soft face, his hands fidgeting by his sides. Looking up at the man, he noticed he was smirking, like this was amusing to him— it probably was. 

“Boo hoo. Should have been more careful, sweetheart,” the man mocked. He brought his cold hand up to Baekhyun’s face, pushing the hair out of it, making the scared boy look back at him directly. The eye contact made Baekhyun’s skin crawl. 

The man smiled as he brought his other hand up to Baekhyun’s temple. Baekhyun’s breathing faltered when he felt the barrel against his head—he had a gun pointed at his head, ready to take away his life with a simple pull of the trigger. It was as easy as that. 

“Now, you have two choices, kid. You can come with me unharmed or you can refuse and your brains will be blown out of your head,” the man said, his voice low, pressing the gun’s barrel harder against Baekhyun’s temple to emphasize his point. 

“I’ll come with you, just please don’t hurt me,” Baekhyun begged. He sobbed loudly but nobody seemed to hear him over the nearby club music. The man ran his thumb over Baekhyun’s face, wiping his tears away. 

“Good, now hold my hand and keep your head down. If you even let out the slightest sound, I won’t hesitate to kill you,” he explained, grabbing Baekhyun’s shaking hand. He immediately started dragging him back towards where the dead guy was. Baekhyun kept his head down and closed his eyes when they walked past the body. He couldn’t look at the unfortunate man‘s dead body, or any dead body at all. 

He opened his eyes when he felt that they passed him. They were now on the streets, sidewalks filled with people waiting to get into bars to start up their weekend. None of them paid attention to Baekhyun getting kidnapped. It’s not like they knew what was happening. In the public’s eyes, they probably looked like a couple, nothing to worry about. 

The man led him further away from the crowd and towards an empty parking lot with a couple of cars occupying it. The taller tugged him towards a pitch black Audi R8, opened the passenger door and shoved him inside harshly.

“Give me your phone,” he demanded. Baekhyun scrambled to fetch his phone from his pocket, he didn’t want to be at the end of the barrel again. When he handed his phone over with shaky hands the door was slammed in his face and the man locked the car as he walked to the driver’s side, unlocking it only to get in.

The car lights turned on, allowing Baekhyun to get a better view of his kidnapper. The man had hair as dark as his car, styled so it stayed out of his face, brown eyes that looked fearless and was accompanied by a piercing gaze. He looked around Baekhyun’s age, which shocked the boy. Who would want to engage in these terrible things at such a young age?

“Keep quiet for the ride or I  _ will _ shoot you.”

After what seemed to be a long time, they arrived at a large gate—behind it was a mansion. The gate automatically opened and they drove closer to the large building. 

Baekhyun was dry of tears, he couldn’t cry anymore. His fear remained though. 

“Get out,” the man ordered as he shut the car off. Baekhyun complied, making sure not to slam the car door in fear of angering the armed man. The man grabbed the boy’s arm and dragged him into the mansion. 

“Behave,” he whispered into the shaking boy’s ear. Baekhyun was too distracted being stuck in his mind that he didn’t notice the interior of the mansion, he was completely zoned out as fear clouded his head.

He got pulled up the stairs and was forced to stop in front of a door. The man knocked, whistling casually as if kidnapping a random person wasn’t anything unusual. A deep voice from the other side of the door told them to come in.

When he got pushed into the large room he was met by another tall man in a suit sitting behind a desk. The first thing that caught his eyes immediately was his platinum blonde‒ almost white‒ hair. It was styled perfectly, framing his face—complimenting it. The next thing that caught his eye was the man’s hard gaze, his stare itself made Baekhyun want to cry all over again. He caught a glimpse of tattoos climbing up the man’s neck. His ears were pierced and he had an eyebrow piercing. His presence screamed authority. Baekhyun gulped, this couldn’t be good. 

“Who is this, Sehun?” the voice as deep as a baritone demanded an answer. It sent chills down Baekhyun’s spine. Baekhyun couldn’t look away from the man, though. He felt that if he looked away he’d get shot on sight for being disrespectful. 

“When I was finishing my task, this kid witnessed the…  _ exchange _ . One of the rules is to kill or bring any witnesses to you, Mr. Park,” Sehun explained, he put his hand on Baekhyun’s shoulder. The smaller flinched away from the touch but Sehun gripped his shoulder to keep him in place. 

Mr. Park’s gaze hardened, his eyebrows creased giving him an angry demeanor. “Why did you bring him here, Sehun?”

“W-what do you mean, boss? It’s the rule.”

A loud bang made Baekhyun flinch as Mr. Park slammed his hand down on his large wooden desk full of papers. “The rule is to kill the witnesses! Not bring them to my office!”

Sehun’s hold on his shoulder began to falter as his boss scolded him, his foolishness was getting him in trouble. 

“Boss, I-“

“You idiot! You’ve been here for a month and don’t know the basic rules?!” Mr. Park yelled, “I should kill you myself!”

“Boss. It won’t happen again, I promise!” Sehun pleaded, walking closer to Mr. Park’s desk with his hands folded, he dropped to his knees begging for forgiveness. It was clear he was terrified of his boss. 

“It better not, Sehun. We can’t afford mistakes like this,” Mr. Park explained, his cold glare burning through the man on his knees “next time, you’ll have to pay the price.”

Sehun exhaled a sigh of relief, bowing deeply on the floor to show his appreciation, “I understand, boss.”

“Kill him.”

Sehun’s head snapped up at his boss. 

“Right now?”

Mr. Park rolled his eyes, “yes, right now. If you kill him, we can put your inane mistake behind us.”

Sehun hesitantly brought his pistol out, switching the safety off and aiming the barrel at Baekhyun’s face.

Everything was happening too fast. 

Baekhyun felt his blood go cold as adrenaline surged through his body, he didn’t want to die, especially not like this. He always imagined passing away from old age, living a life he was proud of filled with happiness and success. He would be content with leaving the world like that. But Baekhyun was nowhere near his goals, he wasn’t even halfway there. He couldn’t die like this, with a gun against his head, he couldn’t die to a bunch of criminals!

He opened his mouth before he could even think about the weight of his words. 

“Wait! Please don’t do this!” Baekhyun begged desperately, “I can be of use to you!”

Baekhyun’s loud exclamation stunned both of the men, it was unexpected. A long pause followed after Baekhyun’s sentence, he didn’t know if they were contemplating or if they just thought he looked like a fool. 

He expected them to laugh in his face. 

“What is your name?” Mr. Park asked the shaking boy. It would have been a risk to give a fake name, so Baekhyun played it safe. 

“Byun Baekhyun,” he answered, looking at the ground as tears started to appear in his eyes again. Baekhyun prayed in his head that his friends would be safe, that they would be okay without him and could live their lives after finding out he was gone. He hoped he could somehow make it out alive, back to his boring life. He would never complain about how hard and boring his life was if he ever got the chance to leave the mansion alive.

“Well, Byun Baekhyun, what can you offer us?” Mr. Park asked in a bored tone, resting his hands on the desk, twisting his various rings on his big fingers. 

Baekhyun wanted to be a criminal lawyer, not a criminal. 

“What exactly are you guys?” Baekhyun asked hesitantly. The tears were getting hard to hold back. He hung his head down, staring at the floor to keep his tears hidden from their judging eyes. 

He should have left the scene when he noticed what was happening in the alley. He was stupid. 

Sehun laughed tauntingly and ruffled Baekhyun’s hair. The smaller bit his lip to hold back a sob that threatened to leave his mouth. 

“What do you think?” Sehun asked. Baekhyun could see the smirk on Sehun’s face without having to look at him. Baekhyun’s mind screamed at him to play it safe and bite his tongue. 

“Low-life criminals,” Baekhyun whispered under his breath. Sehun must have heard him because he felt the taller grab his hair, forcing him to look up.

“Say that a little louder kid, I can’t hear you.” Baekhyun glared at him. Baekhyun’s pride was going to get him killed one day. 

“Both of you, stop.” Mr. Park ordered. Sehun rolled his eyes and let go of the brunet’s hair. 

“I’m just breaking him in, boss.” Sehun complained.

“So, Baekhyun, what can you offer?”

Baekhyun gulped. He knew he had to lie or he would die. 

“I c-can be an extra! Like bait or something, whatever you need!” Baekhyun stammered, “just please, give me a chance.”

Baekhyun was still looking down the barrel as he tried to persuade Mr. Park to let him stay alive. He honestly didn’t know why he was trying, why would they need some random boy. Baekhyun felt a lump start to form in his throat, it was useless prolonging his death, he wanted to give up. 

The boy held his breath to try and calm himself down, to try and stop the waterfall that was threatening to fall from his eyes as they sat in silence. 

“Hm, I guess you can be of use to us. A human shield to the members, a lackey,” Mr. Park finally spoke. Baekhyun swore he was going to cry. He wasn’t going to die, at least not tonight. He couldn’t believe the man at the desk agreed with him. Although the thought of being a human shield made his lips quiver. 

“I’m okay with that,” Baekhyun lied, trying to keep himself calm. 

“Good,” Mr. Park spoke, “Sehun, keep the new recruit under the radar from the others, they will find out later when he is deemed trustworthy.”

“Why, boss?” Sehun asked as he lowered his gun from Baekhyun’s forehead. Baekhyun let go of the breath he was unconsciously holding, he had never felt this relieved. 

Mr. Park’s expression hardened, he truly looked like a leader. 

“I don’t make mistakes.”

  
  
  
  


In the span of two days, Baekhyun didn’t expect to be thrown to the wolves early, especially with Sehun. 

Mr. Park assigned Sehun to find out if Baekhyun was trustworthy and worth their time, Sehun wasn’t happy with it. Sehun got tasked with this because apparently he was the least important pawn to the boss, as he was told right to his face. 

They were ordered to stay for two days at an address of an apartment the boss gave them. Neither of them understood how this was a part of the trial but went along with it anyways. 

When Baekhyun entered, he saw that it was a small apartment, nothing extravagant or special, just plain and simple. The living room and kitchen were connected, both small, and down the hallway were two other doors. 

Sehun was the last to walk in, he looked both ways down the hallway then quickly shut the door, locking it immediately. 

Baekhyun raised his eyebrows, “why are you so paranoid?”

Sehun removed his hand from inside his coat and dropped his shoulders, he wasn’t so tense now that they were in the confines of the apartment. 

“Someone could be following us,” Sehun explained, briskly walking to the windows and shutting the blinds, “we cannot risk it.”

The taller set the black duffle bag he was carrying down on the coffee table, unzipping it and  taking out a pistol

“Woah, why did you bring a gun?!” Baekhyun asked, stepping backwards as Sehun  reloaded the pistol with  ease, like he was a robot programmed to do this, his actions never once faltering. 

Sehun gave him a smug smirk as he  pulled out a bigger gun from the bag. “We have to be prepared, neither of us know what your trial will be. We have to be prepared for heaven or hell.”

When Baekhyun was told he needed to be proven trustworthy to the boss he expected a trust falling activity, not this. He didn’t think he would have to use a gun, he didn’t even know how to hold or shoot a gun. 

“Anyways, we have to go to the local market to get food since there’s nothing here,” Sehun said as he finished  reloading the bigger gun , “you need to carry a weapon with you too.”

“But I don’t know how‒“

“I’ll show you. I’m not just going to let you go in blind, you’re my responsibility.” Sehun cut him off. “If you die, I die.”

  
  
  
  


The streets weren’t crowded, but they weren’t empty either. It was late afternoon and Baekhyun and Sehun were on their way to the store, wearing hats and keeping their heads down. 

When they reached the store, Sehun told Baekhyun to wait for him outside and keep watch. The weight in his coat made him feel safe but it also frightened him. He had a knife in his pocket since he refused to carry a gun. 

As Baekhyun was leaning against the wall of the store a man approached him, his red hair making him stand out. 

He expected a normal conversation, maybe the man wanted to know where he got his Converse from but was caught off guard when the man gripped his arm and roughly pulled him closer to his body, the smaller could feel his breath on his ear. 

“You are going to help me kill Sehun and if you don’t answer me right now and cooperate, I will kill you too,” the man whispered into the brunet’s ear. Baekhyun’s mind screamed at him to run, he didn't know what to do. 

The weight in his coat got heavier. 

The redhead took Baekhyun’s silence as a no and grabbed his shoulders roughly and started shaking the scared boy, “are you going to help me?!” he screamed in Baekhyun’s face. 

“O-okay, I will help you,” Baekhyun reluctantly agreed, fear making his voice waver. The man hummed in his ear. 

“Good. Get him outside the apartment around 9 PM. If you are even a minute late, both of you will have a target on your heads,” the man pulled away, walking past the stunned boy. 

A minute later, Sehun walked out of the store with bags in his hands, walking towards the smaller and handing him some. 

The smaller acted normal, he couldn’t let Sehun become suspicious. 

Baekhyun was torn. 

The time was flying and Baekhyun’s deadline was approaching. 

The two were currently lounging on the couch and watching television. Sehun’s paranoia died down slowly as the hours passed, though he still tensed up when a door closed down the hallway, it was progress. 

Baekhyun tried distracting himself with the show they were watching but his mind was racing, he was fidgeting with his fingers, he was biting his lip. 

He could not ignore it. In an hour he would have to lead Sehun outside or else they would both be killed. But Baekhyun didn’t want to be a part of the murder and Sehun didn’t deserve to die, not like this at least. 

The brunet was going to take the risk, he was going to do the right thing. 

Baekhyun took a deep breath, “someone is going to try to kill you in an hour,” he blurted out.

Sehun looked like he was about to faint. 

“What?! How did you know that?!” Sehun asked. He rushed towards the gun on the table. 

“Well, while you were gone some guy grabbed me and threatened me to help him kill you by luring you out,” Baekhyun shook his head, ”but I couldn’t, i-it’s wrong,” he explained as Sehun grabbed his phone and called someone, putting it on speaker. 

“What do you want?” Mr. Park asked. Baekhyun could just see the leader eye-rolling; Sehun is the least of his worries. The leader was just as intimidating over the phone as he was in the flesh. 

“Boss, someone is coming to kill me,” Sehun rushed out, his grip on the phone tightened. 

Mr. Park chuckled, “I know.”

Baekhyun knew Sehun was as confused as him by the look on his face. 

“What do you mean?”

“I told Suho to find you two, separate Baekhyun and tell the boy that he was going to kill you. It was part of his trial.” Mr. Park swiftly explained. 

To say Baekhyun was shocked was an understatement, he felt like he was dreaming. He wouldn’t be surprised if he woke up any second now. 

“You two can come back, he is deemed trustworthy.”

  
  
  
  


Baekhyun was still in a daze as the two stood in front of the boss once again, except this time the smaller wasn’t crying, he wasn’t a hostage. 

He was trying to get recruited. 

“Well, you proved me wrong Baekhyun.” The leader started, leaning back in his chair; he noticed the red-haired man—Suho—was standing beside him. “I didn’t think you would pass, I was positive you were going to save yourself.”

Baekhyun didn’t know how to respond so he just nodded. 

The leader smirked. “Cat got your tongue?”

“I wouldn’t let him get killed for no reason, that would be wrong.” Baekhyun answered, he looked up and met the leader’s strong gaze. 

The leader hummed in satisfaction. ”Welcome to Exodus.” Mr. Park smirked. “I’m Park Chanyeol, the leader of the mafia.”

“M-mafia?” 

“Yes, welcome to the real world.” Chanyeol grinned. Baekhyun knew who Exodus were. They were the biggest mafia in Asia. They were a common subject in his criminology class, they were the reason for most deaths on the news. And now Baekhyun was going to be a part of their crimes and their infamous legacy. 

“Should we introduce our newest member to the rest?” Sehun asked and handed the smaller his forgotten phone back, he has been so quiet since they arrived that Baekhyun forgot he was even in the room. 

Baekhyun cursed in his head at the thought of having to meet more intimidating people. People who had power in the underworld full of crimes and illegal businesses.

He was just a nobody, a forgettable face in a crowd of people. 

“Nobody is seeing him until he looks decent enough,” Chanyeol stated, motioning for them to leave the room, “take him to get new clothes and such.”

The smaller’s hair was messy, with some knots in it from the wind, but it was nothing a shower couldn’t fix. 

“Why?” Baekhyun asked. “Can’t I just comb my hair and be done?”

Suho, who has been silent all this time beside Chanyeol, scoffed as if the mere mention of combing offends his whole being.

“No one’s going to listen to you if you continue to look like that.” Chanyeol laughed. His laugh sounded as hollow as a tree, like all life was gone from him.

“Look like what?” Baekhyun’s eyebrows furrowed, 

“A scared kid.” Chanyeol smirked. 

"Bring him back when he's presentable for the ceremony to be held next week."

  
  


————————————————————

  
  


Sehun fastened the tie around Baekhyun’s neck. It took them four whole days to go shopping for a new wardrobe. They went shopping to change up Baekhyun’s appearance for him to look like he belonged in their world. Sehun drove them to clothing stores, purchased various clothes, accessories, shoes, and some suits. Then to ‘top his look off’ Sehun took him to get his hair dyed. Baekhyun liked his natural brown hair but the raven black was starting to rub off on him. 

“There, you look like a completely new person!” Sehun said, slowly clapping his hands. “Who are you again?”

“Shut up,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes. Over the four days they spent together, Baekhyun and Sehun got to briefly know each other. Sehun told Baekhyun about how he hasn’t been here since the beginning; when Exodus started out as a small unknown gang and how they climbed up the ranks when Chanyeol became the leader. 

He joined a month ago and was new to Exodus. Just like Baekhyun, they were both in new territory. 

They were getting ready for the ceremony held for new members, it was mandatory. 

“Loyalty is very important in the mafia. Keep that in mind,” Sehun spoke out of the blue. He patted Baekhyun on the shoulder and walked out of the bathroom, leaving Baekhyun alone. 

When Baekhyun glanced in the mirror he felt like he was looking at a stranger. Baekhyun would have never dyed his hair black. Baekhyun would have never agreed to this life. Baekhyun would have and _should_ _have_ been more careful that unlucky night a week ago. 

His phone started ringing in his pocket. He glanced at the screen and saw Kyungsoo was calling him. He never got the bag of sugar to the shop that night and he has been ignoring his friends’ multiple calls during the week. 

He took a deep breath and answered the call, he couldn’t ignore them forever. He mentally prepared himself to get yelled at by his best friend. 

“Hello?”

“Baekhyun! What the fuck happened to you?! You went off the grid! You never brought the sugar to the shop and have not come home in a week!” Kyungsoo scolded. Baekhyun felt guilty. He wished he could tell his friend the truth about the situation but he wants to keep him safe and the only way to keep him safe was to shut him out. 

“Uh, I passed a bar on the way to the shop and got distracted by a hot guy. I’ve been staying at a nearby motel so I could go back and try to get his number. Sorry, Soo,” he lied through the phone. He’s lucky his friend couldn’t see him, he would know immediately that he’s lying through his teeth. Baekhyun has never been able to lie to Kyungsoo. 

Baekhyun would have to thank his hopeless romantic self that his lie would be believable for his friends.

“Pft, you’re weird. Did you at least get laid?”

“Soo!” Baekhyun yelled, a red blush formed on his cheeks. Kyungsoo has always teased him about being a virgin. Jongdae and Kyungsoo always tried to get Baekhyun a boyfriend or at least a one night stand but Baekhyun always refused their constant offers that never stopped. 

“Baekhyun, let’s go!” Sehun yelled from the other room. 

“....Baekhyun.. who was that?” Kyungsoo asked seriously, his former anger gone. Baekhyun could see his friend frowning from the tone of his voice. Baekhyun was close to telling the truth. 

“N-no one Soo, I have to go,” he hung up quickly. He pocketed his phone and walked out of the bathroom. Instead of Sehun waiting for him, he was met by Chanyeol. 

“Come on, they’re dying to meet you.” Chanyeol spoke. He grabbed Baekhyun’s arm and led him towards a room on the main floor. Chanyeol stopped them outside the closed door and turned towards Baekhyun. 

“Keep quiet unless spoken to in there, okay?” Baekhyun nodded in agreement. All the preparation and rules were starting to frighten him. He was confused as to what even happened at these ceremonies.

Chanyeol opened the door and Baekhyun saw what was beyond the door. A large table with a lit fireplace behind it, a grand chandelier hanging over top. Candles were also lit among the long table and the lights were dimmed. There were five people sitting around the table, all in suits. Covered in tattoos and piercings, some had scars, and they all looked intimidating. 

Baekhyun quickly recognized one man, he was the one who threatened to kill Sehun. 

Chanyeol led them to the head of the table, Baekhyun was seated at the chair between Chanyeol and the redhead, Sehun was across the table from him. 

“Everyone, this is a friend of ours. Byun Baekhyun,” Chanyeol spoke, placing his folded hands filled with rings on the table. Someone from the far end of the table got up and approached Baekhyun, he placed a .38 caliber revolver in front of him followed by a black dagger. 

Baekhyun started panicking. He immediately thought he was going to have to kill someone. He isn’t capable of doing that. Even if he was threatened to kill or be killed, he couldn’t‒  _ wouldn’t _ . 

“I enter Exodus alive and I get out when I am dead,” Chanyeol started. Everyone repeated the line. When they noticed Baekhyun didn’t say it, they all looked at him. 

“Repeat it, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol ordered. Everyone’s eyes were boring into Baekhyun, he gulped. 

“I enter Exodus alive and I get out when I am dead,” Baekhyun slowly said. 

Chanyeol grabbed the dagger off the table. He held his hand out to Baekhyun, gesturing for him to give his hand. Baekhyun hesitantly placed his shaking hand into Chanyeol’s much larger ones. 

The leader brought the dagger’s tip up to Baekhyun’s pointer finger. His trigger finger. A gasp of pain left Baekhyun’s lips as the dagger dug into his skin, drawing blood. 

“This blood means we are now family. You will live and die by the knife and gun,” Chanyeol spoke. He let go of Baekhyun’s hand and placed the dagger back in front of the boy. 

“I will live and die by the knife and gun,” Baekhyun repeated. He couldn’t believe everyone had to go through this to join, this was intense. 

“We are one till death,” Chanyeol said, raising his wine glass up. 

“We are one till death,” Baekhyun repeated with the others. He raised his wine glass. Cheers to a new life full of danger—maybe this is the change that Baekhyun needs. 

“One of our members couldn’t make it today, he’s barely ever around because he’s very busy,” Chanyeol explained when he caught Baekhyun looking at the empty seat. 

“So, what will you have Baekhyun train to be, boss?” A man beside Sehun asked. He had a deep voice but not as deep as Chanyeol’s. Blonde hair that nicely contrasts his bronze skin. He looked like he could be a model. 

“I’m not sure yet, Kai. He’ll probably go through some training and slowly begin to join missions and deals,” Chanyeol said. So the could’ve-been-a-model man is Kai. 

“Then we’ll see what he’s good at when he’s involved in a situation and has to think quickly,” Suho said, he was sitting beside Baekhyun. His blood-red hair and red suit were eye catching. 

“That’s right, Suho,” Chanyeol confirmed. The guys around the table were very intimidating. Baekhyun feels he’ll always be scared of them. 

“Mr. Kim is taken care of, boss, D.O is draining his account.” Sehun said, taking a sip of his red wine. Baekhyun wondered if Mr. Kim was the guy Sehun killed last night. 

“Well, we better get started on Baekhyun’s training. The ceremony is officially over and sealed. Everyone, go back to your tasks,” Chanyeol ordered his members. Four men got out of their chairs immediately, leaving the room briskly. Sehun remained seated, swinging around a knife.

“Would you like me to help?” Sehun tossed the knife in the air and caught it by the blade, he caught it with precision not resulting in a cut. 

“No, I can train him. You go find D.O and get an update on Mr. Kim’s account,” Chanyeol gestured to the smaller to follow him. 

“Fine, I better get to teach him how to throw knives later!” Sehun shouted at them as they walked out of the room. 

Chanyeol led him down the hallway full of paintings and towards an elevator. 

“Where are we going to train?”

“In the basement,” Chanyeol said as the elevator shut.

”Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Baekhyun accidentally bumped into Chanyeol when he entered the spacious elevator. Chanyeol looked down at him intently when Baekhyun lowered his gaze to the ground. Chanyeol grasped Baekhyun’s chin into his large hand and forced his head up, making him look directly into his eyes. 

“You don’t apologize for anything, Baekhyun. People apologize to you. You have to carry yourself with authority. You are above everyone else now, you’re on top of the world,” Baekhyun blinked rapidly after staring for too long at the taller‘s stern gaze. 

“Apologizing is what gets you killed.”

“Okay, sorr-“ The smaller was suddenly cut off as he got pushed up against the elevator wall. Chanyeol had his hand around Baekhyun’s throat, cutting off his airway. Baekhyun quickly brought his hands up to try and pry the leader’s hands off his throat but was too weak compared to the taller. 

“I said don’t apologize ever again. No one will ever take you seriously if you continue that,” Chanyeol tightened his grip as he spoke. The elevator door opened and as soon as the taller loosened his grip around Baekhyun’s neck, the smaller harshly pushed him away. 

“It won’t happen again, boss,” Baekhyun spat as he exited the elevator leaving the leader behind in shock. A small smirk formed on Chanyeol’s face as he left the elevator trailing behind the fuming boy.

Baekhyun was changing beautifully. He was slowly growing thorns around him that they all had, becoming one of them. 

Chanyeol caught up to Baekhyun and led him to the training room. The frequently used room consisted of a shooting range with various types of guns and knives on display waiting to be used. There was also a section further down that had weights and cardio equipment. 

“So Byun, do you know how to shoot a gun?”

  
  


————————————————————

  
  


As Baekhyun walked into his apartment on Sunday he was bombarded with questions from his roommate that he left alone and unanswered all weekend. 

“Oh my god, Baek! What the fuck did you do to your hair!” Kyungsoo screamed as he ran his hands through Baekhyun’s black hair. Baekhyun walked into the kitchen with Kyungsoo trailing behind him. 

“I have to tell Jongdae, he’ll freak!” Kyungsoo exclaimed as he snapped a quick picture of Baekhyun. 

“Why are you making such a big deal out of this, Soo? I just dyed my hair,” Baekhyun rolled his eyes while grabbing food from the cupboard. 

“What do you mean?! When have you ever shown interest in changing your look, Baek? Never!” His friend put his phone down, still staring at Baekhyun with his owl eyes. 

“Well, I can’t imagine how you’re going to take this then.” 

“Take what?”

“I’m dropping out of university,” his friend’s mouth fell open in shock. Baekhyun knew he was about to get interrogated, he could tell by the way his friend’s eyebrows creased. 

“What! Where’s this coming from, Baekhyun!” Kyungsoo screamed. He approached Baekhyun and started shaking him back and forth rapidly, trying to knock sense into his younger friend. 

“You have worked so hard to be a lawyer and now you’re just going to randomly drop out? What the fuck Baek!” Baekhyun got out of his friend’s tight hold before he became dizzy. 

“Well, now I don’t. People change, Soo.” Kyungsoo threw his hands in the air and started walking in circles. 

“What even is coming out of your mouth! You’re crazy, Byun Baekhyun!” Just as Kyungsoo finished freaking out their front door opened and in came an out of breath Jongdae. 

“I came here as quick as I could and oh my god Baekhyun, you really dyed your hair the color of Kyungsoo’s soul!” Jongdae yelled as he ran over to Kyungsoo and jumped on his back, sending them both tumbling to the floor. The fall looked like it hurt them both. 

“Jongdae, get the fuck off me!” Kyungsoo yelled while trying to pry their hyper friend off his back. Jongdae just started laughing and held on tighter to the smaller, he loved annoying Kyungsoo. 

“Our baby is growing up, Soo,” Jongdae started loudly, fake crying for effect. Baekhyun loved moments like these with his friends, he wouldn’t trade them for anything. 

“Maybe too quickly, he’s dropping out of university Dae!”

“Oh my god, yes! Baekhyun save yourself. Fly free like a bird!” Jongdae sang, finally letting go of Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo turned to face his smiling friend and gave him a glare that could kill. 

“Don’t encourage him, idiot. This isn’t good!” Kyungsoo yelled, lightly slapping his friend’s head before he got off the floor, leaving Jongdae alone on the floor. 

“I’m proud of you Baek, you do you baby,” Baekhyun smiled at his friend and blew him a kiss. 

“Thanks, Dae, I knew you would support me.”

“Thanks for nothing Jongdae, I texted you because I thought you would help me,” Kyungsoo huffed in defeat. Baekhyun approached his friend and laid his head on his shoulder with a pout on his face. 

“I’ll be fine, Soo. I promise,” Baekhyun spoke softly, “I was never that into university anyways.”

Kyungsoo slowly stroked his friend’s hair, that isn’t what he’s worried about. 

“You better be fine, Byun Baekhyun.”

  
  


————————————————————

  
  


The boy’s muscles ached. His fair skin has been covered in sweat for the past three weeks. 

Baekhyun has been intensely training nonstop. He has been practicing his aim, how to assemble a gun, how to throw knives, and how to fight in hand to hand combat. He mainly trained with Xiumin, he was the hitman in Exodus. 

Chanyeol never got to train with Baekhyun after the first day because he became extremely busy with deals and progress reports on the other member’s tasks. Basically he was busy being a boss and couldn’t help Baekhyun train. The smaller man liked training with the leader. The leader complimented him, said he had good aim and was a natural sharpshooter. It made Baekhyun feel good—he liked the leader’s compliments the best. 

Baekhyun threw his last knife at the target, it was a little to the left from the bullseye. His other knives were dead in the center but his arm was becoming tired so his aim was getting sloppy. 

“Even when you’re tired you still have to hit the middle, you need to practice that more,” Xiumin explained, patting Baekhyun’s shoulder and handing him a towel. Baekhyun wiped the sweat from his face, his daily training has ended and now he can rest. 

“I’ll keep that in mind for tomorrow,” Baekhyun says walking towards the elevator with Xiumin. 

“You better keep it in mind, tomorrow is going to be your first time joining one of us,” the older explained as they stepped out of the elevator and into the hallway. Xiumin started up the stairs, leaving Baekhyun to absorb the new information. He’d get to join one of them on a task, he hoped he’d remember Xiumin’s advice tomorrow because that’s when it’ll be most important. When he’s in the situation, he can’t afford to mess up because if he does, it could cost a life. 

Baekhyun went to the kitchen to grab something and refuel himself for his hard work. When he entered the kitchen he was greeted by the sight of Sehun and Kai making out, Kai was on the dining table with Sehun standing between his legs. 

Baekhyun coughed to get their attention. They slowly pulled away from each other and faced the intruder of their session. 

“Are you two dating or something?” Baekhyun blurted. When he realized what he said he threw his hand over his mouth. He just stepped out of line. 

“Yes, we are,” Kai spoke in a bored tone. If looks could kill Baekhyun would be dead by now. 

“Then get a room, people eat on that table,” Baekhyun scolded as he opened the fridge to grab strawberries. He heard Sehun scoff as the two start walking away. 

“Is it okay if we use your room, Baekhyun?” Sehun asked down the hallway. 

“You better fucking not you assholes!” The smaller yelled with a mouthful of strawberries. He heard their laughs fade as they continued up the stairs. Baekhyun continued to eat his snack when he heard footsteps nearing the kitchen, he assumed Sehun and Kai were back to annoy him. 

“No, you two cannot use my room!” Baekhyun yelled as he turned to face the leader. A blush of embarrassment appeared on the smaller’s face, he just yelled at their leader. The words ‘I’m sorry’ almost slipped through Baekhyun’s lips but he held it back, he was learning. 

“Um, okay. Someone’s angry,” Chanyeol chuckled as he walked to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of unopened red wine. He sat beside Baekhyun at the dining table and placed two wine glasses down. 

“Care to join me?” Chanyeol asked as he started pouring the liquid into the glasses. Baekhyun nodded in agreement, how could he say no to good wine, besides it’ll help him deal with the nervous feeling in his chest. He always got nervous around Chanyeol, he wasn’t sure if it was because of his serious aura that anyone could sense or if it was because he was his boss. 

Chanyeol took something from his blazer pocket and placed it on the table in front of the silent boy. It was a beautiful gold ring with Exodus engraved on it. Baekhyun swore it cost more than the laptop that he paid for himself back in university. He was really proud of that purchase and how he saved up for it. 

Baekhyun’s definition of expensive was different from Chanyeol’s, his lousy laptop would probably be pocket money to the mafia boss. 

“Here’s the symbol that tells people who you are and where you belong, you’ll need it for our meeting with the arms dealer tomorrow,” Chanyeol stated as he showcased the matching ring he had on his right ring finger to Baekhyun. The smaller gently slid it into place on his ring finger, the cold metal met his warm skin and fit perfectly on his slim finger. 

“Our meeting?” Baekhyun asked as he caught on to the other’s words. Baekhyun thought he’d be joining one of the others on their jobs, not the boss himself. 

“Yes, our meeting Baekhyun. You’re joining me tomorrow to meet with a new arms dealer.” 

“Isn’t that what Sehun does though?” Baekhyun questioned, “he meets with the arms dealers?”

“He’s too busy helping D.O right now and we can’t afford to postpone the meeting since our other dealer got killed,” Chanyeol spoke, downing the rest of his wine. 

“When will I get to meet D.O?” 

“He’s joining us tomorrow, you’ll get to see him then.”

The next day came faster than what Baekhyun had hoped for, he was beyond nervous. He was in a room in the basement with Chanyeol preparing for the meeting. Chanyeol was wearing a suit like any businessman would, his hair pushed back to reveal his face and piercings. 

Baekhyun was wearing a leather jacket, black skinny jeans, and combat boots. All thanks to Sehun who pulled it out for him the night before and Sehun also convinced Baekhyun into wearing a fake lip ring that was attached to his ear-piercing—he said it made him look more intimidating. 

Chanyeol was showing Baekhyun what to carry on him for the meeting. They were both carrying a suppressed pistol in a holster covered by their jackets, a combat knife in their boots, an earpiece to communicate with those back at base, and Baekhyun was secretly carrying an extra pocket knife for safety precautions. 

Today’s the day where Baekhyun’s training comes into use. He’s been worrying about his first task since he joined. The fear of messing up strangled him silently, it hung around his shoulders weighing him down. Hopefully, everything goes smoothly today. Baekhyun couldn’t mess up today—and if he did, he couldn’t imagine the physical and mental consequences of the aftermath. 

When the two came up to the main floor getting ready to head to the meeting spot, Kai, Suho, and Xiumin were waiting for them. Kai and Suho were going to stay at the base for communication and to send back up if needed. Xiumin was coming with them to hide in the shadows with his sniper, ready to take out anyone who dared to harm the two out on the field. 

“Good luck, Baekhyun! You got this!” Kai cheered, clapping his hands. Suho briefly patted Baekhyun’s shoulder, it was his silent way of wishing him luck, a far contrast to their stunted first meeting where he was arrogant and cold. That was the day Baekhyun found out he was second in command. 

Chanyeol led Baekhyun to a black Aston Martin One 77 in their large garage full of expensive cars. Xiumin got into a different car, he was going to trail behind them. Chanyeol told him that D.O was apparently going to meet them there. 

The leader drove them to the outskirts of Seoul. The moon’s glow illuminated the outlines of the many warehouses in the area. Chanyeol parked beside a foreboding warehouse, shutting the car off and turning towards Baekhyun. 

“Are you ready?” He asked, looking at the smaller. The lip ring really made him look intimidating on the outside and it suited him. 

“Yeah, where did Xiumin go?” Baekhyun asked when he realized he didn’t see the member pull up beside them. 

“He’s setting up somewhere nearby, so he can have a clear view of us but remain hidden from people’s eyes,” Chanyeol explained, “D.O should be here soon, we can start without him.”

Baekhyun followed the leader out of the car and into the cold night. The atmosphere would make anyone scared; the bright moon in the sky, the deathly quiet area, the numerous huge warehouses that were built among the land. If Baekhyun was here alone he would be terrified but he wasn’t alone. Chanyeol was with him, he felt safe. 

“Don’t mess up,” Chanyeol coldly ordered, not even looking back at the smaller. All the security Baekhyun was holding onto shattered at that moment. 

They approached the warehouse while Chanyeol opened the door and entered the building with Baekhyun in tow. As soon as they entered the warehouse the strong smell of marijuana filled their noses. There in the middle of the room was a table surrounded by five men smoking the drug. 

“Phoenix! It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” one man said as they approached the table, he extended his hand to shake Chanyeol’s hand. Chanyeol ignored the man’s dirty hand and stood at the other side of the table, observing the other men. They were all in their mid-forties, what he assumed to be the leader was the youngest looking out of the group. 

“So, you can supply Exodus with weapons?” Chanyeol cut straight to the point. The man smirked as he leaned back in his chair, he glanced at Baekhyun who was standing beside Chanyeol. 

“Who’s this we have here? I’ve never seen him before,” the man spoke, smirking at Baekhyun, trying to change the subject. The smaller shifted uncomfortably, this man gave him bad vibes, he could feel the discomfort in his gut. 

“That’s unimportant. Do you want to supply Exodus or not, Mr. Kang?” Chanyeol asked again, his patience was running out. He didn’t have time to deal with men like this, men who played around and think they’re in control. 

“You see, I can’t supply you because I’m already supplying the Dragons,” Mr. Kang smirked. Chanyeol’s face hardened as he realized that this was a set up, they needed to leave immediately. 

A man beside Chanyeol quickly pointed a gun at Chanyeol’s head. Baekhyun quickly pulled out his pistol and pointed it at the guy’s head. Why wasn’t Kai and Suho talking to them? Did the connection give out?

“Now, no need to get ahead of ourselves, pretty boy. I just need to bring Phoenix to my boss, kid, dead or alive. If you put the gun down, I’ll let you live,” Mr. Kang explained. Baekhyun’s anxiety started to rise, what the fuck was he supposed to do? Save himself or risk his life and get them both killed?

Glass rained on the floor as a window shattered on the roof and the guy who was aiming at the leader’s head fell to the floor, dead. A bullet pierced straight through his skull. 

After that, all hell broke loose. 

Chanyeol quickly pulled out his gun as other men started to come at them, he quickly shot the two point-blank. The last one came straight for Baekhyun while the leader went for Chanyeol. 

Baekhyun dodged the lackey’s punch and pistol-whipped the man, hitting him right in the face. The man staggered backwards with blood flowing from his nose. Just as Baekhyun was about to start fighting the man, the warehouse door opened and the man attacking him got shot in the leg. 

Baekhyun whipped his head around and stopped breathing for a minute as his eyes met the man who interfered. 

He blinked once. Twice. His eyes have to be deceiving him. 

“K-Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun stuttered. Kyungsoo stood in the door frame with a pistol in his hands and his skin glistened in the light because of the sweat all over his face. Was this the D.O they were all referring to? His best friend? He was a member of Exodus?

Baekhyun heard Chanyeol grunt in pain behind him. He turned to face the leader and saw him getting pinned to the ground by Mr. Kang who had a gun pointed at Chanyeol’s bleeding head. 

The smaller’s mind went blank as he immediately brought his pistol up and pulled the trigger. Mr. Kang fell to the ground as Chanyeol pushed him off. Baekhyun saved Chanyeol’s life, he protected him. 

Baekhyun rushed to Chanyeol’s side, helping him off the ground. Baekhyun was barely scratched while Chanyeol had a cut on his palm, eyebrow, and his lip was bleeding. 

“Thank you, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol said, looking into the smaller’s brown eyes, Baekhyun felt the gratitude radiating from Chanyeol. Baekhyun slowly nodded, he felt like he belonged. 

“Of course.”

  
  


————————————————————

  
  


They arrived at the mansion and Chanyeol was ushered to Lay, the doctor of Exodus. Everyone surrounded Baekhyun, asking him what happened and why they couldn’t hear them the whole time, Baekhyun wasn’t sure himself. 

“He saved Chanyeol’s life,” Kyungsoo blurted out which shut everyone up. Baekhyun rolled his eyes. 

“It was nothing, I was just doing what I was trained to do,” Baekhyun mumbled while he removed his jacket that clung to his body. 

“What do you mean? That’s everything! You saved our leader, Baekhyun!” Kai exclaimed, still looking blown away, “and you didn’t even hesitate! That’s a true ride or die right there!”

“And when did you join Exodus, Soo?” Baekhyun yelled as he whipped around to face his friend. He needed an explanation, this didn’t make sense. 

Kyungsoo awkwardly chuckled and scratched the back of his neck giving a sheepish smile. He was trying to avoid this conversation but here they are, talking about it. 

“I joined a couple of years ago with Jongin,” Kyungsoo explained. Jongin and Kyungsoo grew up together and wherever one went the other followed. So when Jongin was offered to join, Kyungsoo followed in a heartbeat. 

“Trust me, I was more shocked when I found out that you joined. I was expecting some random kid off the street that witnessed Sehun’s deal but no, I get told it’s you!” Kyungsoo gestured dramatically. “It explains why you never made it to the shop.”

“Anyways,” Xiumin interrupted their small argument, “good job, Baekhyun. Keep that up.”

Baekhyun smiled genuinely. He finally felt like he was needed. He’s never felt needed before. Growing up in the foster care system does that to you, makes you feel unwanted the moment you find out your parents didn’t want you and growing up with that mentality ruined you. 

Now he finally felt something in his numbed emotions. This was the closest thing he was going to get to a family, it felt nice. 

That night when everything died down from everyone celebrating a successful mission and the Kyungsoo drama, Baekhyun finally got some time alone. He headed up to his room planning to shower the grime and blood off him from the meeting and maybe after that he’d relax on his balcony and sing to the stars and the moon; sing to nobody. 

When Baekhyun exited his bathroom with sweatpants and a baggy t-shirt on he was taken aback to find Chanyeol leaning against the wall waiting for him with a bottle of red wine in his hand. He’s never seen the leader so underdressed, so casual looking. He didn’t even have his usual serious expression, the change was comforting. 

“Oh, hey Chanyeol. I didn’t expect you to stop by,” Baekhyun spoke, walking to the balcony and stepped outside. There was a table for two outside that they occupied in comfortable silence. 

“I came because I had free time,” Chanyeol took a swig straight from the bottle, “and to thank you again.”

Baekhyun was thankful it was dark out so the taller man couldn't see how red his face was getting. Chanyeol thanking him never failed to embarrass him, it wasn’t something that happened every day or something that has ever happened until today. 

“It was nothing, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun mumbled, stealing the bottle from the taller’s hand and taking a swig himself. Alcohol always helped him calm down in Chanyeol’s presence.

“No, seriously. Xiumin couldn’t shoot him without shooting me too and D.O was out of ammo. You shot him immediately and I will forever be grateful for that,” Chanyeol turned to look at Baekhyun’s face. In Chanyeol’s twenty-eight years of living, he’s never been this thankful for something or someone. It was a new feeling that was buried with his past long ago but was now resurrecting back into Chanyeol’s life—he’ll let it and embrace the change even though it scared him, change always scared him. 

“Sing with me and then I’ll accept your thank you.”

That night under the star littered sky their voices molded together. Baekhyun’s beautiful soprano tone meshing with Chanyeol’s honey-like baritone, they gifted the moon and the night sky with their harmony. It was just the two of them in Baekhyun’s mind. 

They could both get used to this thing called change. 

  
  


————————————————————

  
  


Baekhyun almost fell out of the speeding car when it took a sharp turn, avoiding a collision that would’ve killed them both. He almost lost his grip on his pistol from the unexpected turn as a bullet raced past his head. 

“Can you drive any better?!” Baekhyun screamed down at Chanyeol. He quickly cocked his gun, held his breath, aimed, and fired. The bullet pierced the windshield of the car tailing them but still kept the unknown attackers on track. 

Baekhyun threw his pistol at the car behind them in rage, he couldn’t hit a shot with the pistol. 

“These guys are getting fucking annoying, where’s the M16?” Baekhyun ducked back into the car from his rolled-down window. Chanyeol kept his eyes on the road as he passed the smaller the machine gun.

As Baekhyun put a magazine in he turned to the leader, “drive steady so I can end this, I want to go home and eat,” Baekhyun ordered as he stuck half his body out of the window again, missing the growing smirk on the leader’s face. 

The smaller aimed and fired again, multiple bullets hit the windshield of the car and finally killed the man chasing them. The car swerved to the side and into the forest as the man was now lifeless. 

When Baekhyun put the gun in the backseat and was properly seated in the car, Chanyeol ruffled the boy’s raven hair, it has become a habit in the past month. 

“Good job, Baek,” Baekhyun turned towards the window and pretended to watch the trees blur past the car to hide his burning face, still ever so affected by Chanyeol’s praises.

He was unaware that he wasn’t the only one with cheeks as red as a tomato. 

During the past month, Baekhyun and Chanyeol have become closer, inseparable; everyone calls them the ride or dies. And in that month Baekhyun has developed a crush on the leader. They’ve spent so much time together and they just seem to click in Baekhyun’s eyes—his rapidly beating heart can agree. 

Baekhyun fell for Chanyeol as hard as pouring rain fell from the sky during a storm. 

  
  


————————————————————

  
  


The moon was always a pleasure to look at. The dark craters that you could see from the earth reminded Baekhyun of their planet they resided on, imperfect. 

The natural disasters that occurred and the inhabitants of the planet; imperfect. 

He wasn’t perfect. 

The moon was shining into Baekhyun’s room through his large window, it created a shadow across his angled face, giving his face a new kind of depth that wasn’t visible with the sun’s rays. 

A random movie played in the background, his personal white noise while Baekhyun zoned out, his eyes looking out his window and directed at the brilliant full moon. 

He hasn’t been able to sleep at night lately and tonight was no different. 

Yelling from the other room cut through the silence of the quiet mansion, it caught Baekhyun’s attention immediately. He quickly sprang up and rushed into the hallway to follow the noise, he felt alarmed, he was in fight or flight mode.

He followed the screams to Chanyeol’s room which was across from his. He quickly opened the door and rushed inside. The room was dark but he could see Chanyeol’s large figure lying on the bed, twisting and thrashing as cries fell from his lips. 

Baekhyun rushed to Chanyeol, firmly grabbing his thrashing arm. He could feel the straining muscles beneath his slim fingers. “Chanyeol.” 

The taller continued crying in his sleep, trapped in the nightmare his mind created. 

“Chanyeol,” Baekhyun said louder and gently tapped the taller, he didn’t want to scare him. Chanyeol quickly sat up straight with a cry leaving his mouth, he was breathing heavily, like he just ran a marathon and turned to Baekhyun. 

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol’s voice broke along with Baekhyun’s heart, you could hear the pain laced in his voice, it made Baekhyun’s heart ache. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Baekhyun asked softly, concern flooding his voice as he sat on the side of the taller’s bed.

Chanyeol’s uneven breathing was Baekhyun’s only answer. 

Baekhyun was taken aback as he got pulled into Chanyeol’s warm embrace, he felt like home. The smaller wrapped his arms around Chanyeol as he started sobbing into Baekhyun’s shoulder, the taller’s warm breath hitting Baekhyun’s neck. 

“It’s all my fault,” the sobbing man kept repeating like a broken record as he trembled viciously, “I killed her.”

It was whispered so quietly that Baekhyun almost didn’t hear it but when he did, he tightened his hold on Chanyeol like he was going to slip through his arms and into the darkness his mind crafted; his personal hell.

Baekhyun started running his hands through Chanyeol’s soft hair, trying to console him. Who would’ve thought their fearless leader was so broken on the inside, it was hidden from everyone’s nonchalant gaze. 

It was kept in the dark, never intended to see the light. 

Baekhyun started to pull away to look into Chanyeol’s eyes but the taller held him tighter, keeping Baekhyun pressed against Chanyeol’s trembling body. 

“Please stay,” Chanyeol whispered into Baekhyun’s shoulder, his tears seeping through the smaller’s t-shirt but Baekhyun didn’t care, “please don’t leave me.”

“Okay,” as the whisper fell from Baekhyun’s lips, Chanyeol moved over and helped Baekhyun lay on the king-sized bed.

That night they talked until the sun came up and painted their skin a golden color, they enjoyed each other's presence while everyone was fast asleep. 

They fell asleep in each other's arms, finally feeling at peace with themselves and the world around them. 

When Baekhyun opened his eyes from the comforting sleep, he was met with an empty bed—no Chanyeol accompanying the other side. That late night spent with Chanyeol came to his mind, it shot an ache through Baekhyun’s body. 

Chanyeol couldn’t see past his guilt to know that it wasn’t his fault, it’s not even close to his fault yet he carries the burden he placed upon his shoulders. 

Baekhyun found the man in his office, overworking himself to forget last night. He was on the phone when Baekhyun entered the room and sat across from him. 

Chanyeol never made eye contact with Baekhyun when he entered. 

“Suho is going to the race tonight as a contestant, get him a car,” Chanyeol finished and hung up the phone, immediately fixing his eyes onto the laptop in front of him. 

“It’s not your fault, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun’s voice cut through the growing silence, Chanyeol’s metaphoric shield. The leader noticeably tensed and continued to ignore the boy in front of him. 

“There was nothing you could’ve done to save-“

“I am the reason she’s dead, Baekhyun!” The smaller froze as Chanyeol yelled abruptly, his deep voice filling the room. “I could have done something to prevent it from happening but I didn’t!”

“Doesn’t mean it was your fault, you couldn’t have saved her.”

“Yes, I could have. I could’ve gone back into the house for her instead of being selfish and saving myself. I could’ve saved her from the fire, Baekhyun, but I didn’t. It’s my fault!” he shouted, his voice cracked when he whispered the last sentence, “I killed Yoora.”

Baekhyun’s eyes started to water with Chanyeol’s. Last night when Chanyeol was in his fragile state he confessed his tragic past. How his parents died in a car explosion caused by the Dragons that left him with his only blood relative, his sister, Yoora. The Dragons wanted the whole family gone so a couple of months later, they tried another assassination attempt to kill both of them in a house fire while they were deep in slumber. 

Chanyeol was only ten at the time. He made it out of the burning house alive while his sister was engulfed in the flames. Chanyeol wishes they could trade places, he thought Yoora deserved to be alive and not him. Eighteen years after the incident and he still blamed himself for his sister’s death. 

“You weren’t the one who started the fire, it isn’t your fault. It’s their fault,” Baekhyun tried to reach across the table to grab the taller’s trembling hands but Chanyeol recoiled away. 

“Leave me alone, Baekhyun. Forget last night even happened.” 

Baekhyun wanted to scream at Chanyeol, to make him understand it was never his fault. 

Baekhyun could feel his heart breaking, piece by piece. 

“How can I forget about it?” Baekhyun choked out, tears now free falling down his pale face, “I care about you, Chanyeol.”

Silence surrounded them. 

“You don’t deserve this. You don’t deserve to beat yourself up mentally over something that was someone else’s doing.”

“Please leave, Baekhyun,” Baekhyun shook his head in disbelief. Feeling his heart clench in pain, he turned away to leave.

As he left slowly, the pain in his heart never left his body, suffocating him. He paused outside the room when he shut the door. 

Chanyeol was crying.

————————————————————

Behind the extravagant mansion was a beautiful garden, it was like a hidden gem. You wouldn’t know it exists unless you were in the mansion and looked out the back windows. 

The garden was full of colorful flowers of many types, trees planted among the pristine green grass, and a pond as calm as the wind in the middle of it all. This was Baekhyun’s favorite place, he came to sit on the bench that faced the pond and the sunset often to relax, think, and sometimes he’d even bring a book with him. 

It was his haven. The place where he felt he could breathe. Where all his problems dissolved into thin air, like they never existed. This was where he felt the safest. 

Baekhyun has been staring at the horizon for what felt like twenty minutes, lost in thought, thinking about the man who seemed to be the only thing occupying his mind these days. 

One sided infatuation. 

Last night came back to him and he pondered on who the Dragons were, Chanyeol never told him who they exactly were, only that they had something to do with his past and his family’s bitter end. 

A shadow was casted at the corner of Baekhyun’s eyes as someone sat beside him but he didn’t bother to look who it was, he was too busy staring at the pond reflecting the sunset, it made his eyes shine and mirror the beauty of the pond. 

“Mind if I sit here?”

Baekhyun shook his head, still keeping his eyes fixed on the pond. 

“I brought wine,” Chanyeol started opening the bottle and passing it to the smaller. Baekhyun took it, not daring to look at the man beside him. 

“And I came to say I’m sorry for earlier, for yelling at you like that.” 

Baekhyun turned to face Chanyeol. The orange sunset made the taller’s skin glow, he looked like he was made of gold; ethereal. 

Baekhyun lightly smiled as he took a swig from the bottle offered to him and Chanyeol smiled back. 

“You don’t deserve to be yelled at like that when you did nothing wrong,” Chanyeol started, staring straight into Baekhyun’s eyes, “I’m just not used to anyone seeing me the way you saw me last night, no one has ever woken me up from those nightmares because they’re all heavy sleepers.”

“I’m also sorry for prying earlier, it wasn’t my place to do so,” Baekhyun spoke for the first time since Chanyeol came to join him on the bench. 

“No need to apologize, I needed what you said earlier to wake up and get past that night,” Chanyeol spoke, "I grew up with it, ever since the incident, thinking that it was my fault my whole life so it's going to be hard to accept the truth."

“It’s okay, everyone starts somewhere.”

They sat on the bench smiling at each other, Baekhyun felt his heart was going to explode, he could hear it in his ears like a metronome, Chanyeol could probably hear his heart beating in his chest—fast and loud all because of Chanyeol’s smile that showed all his white teeth.

He looked boyish, it made him look alive. It’s like there was a completely different person in front of him. 

“Cheers to change.” 

  
  


————————————————————

  
  


Laughter, cries, cheers, and swears are what filled the club’s four corners, bouncing back at the people gambling for money and power, encouraging them to keep going.

That’s how the addiction started. 

The pride that filled your body when you took home someone’s money and the feeling of losing your money. It was the thrill that made Kai return every time, like a moth to a flame. 

He was playing a dangerous game but he fancied the risk, it was his forte. 

1am was when the dim lights created a shadow on everyone’s face, keeping the exchange almost anonymous—since what they were participating in was illegal. 

This club was a place Kai visited often, the loud building filled with dancing bodies was where he collected the most money because gambling was like breathing to him; easy and he was good at it. 

Baekhyun was tasked to accompany Kai to the club as his chaperone, he was equipped with a gun and knives that were hidden from everyone’s eyes. 

He was told not to accept anything strangers offered because it was probably drugged and only being here for half an hour, it felt like fifty people have already tried to offer him a drink. Constantly declining their offers started to get on Baekhyun’s nerves, everyone was treading on thin ice, it was only a matter of time before he snapped. 

Baekhyun never wanted to step foot in this dimly lit club again. 

The unsettling sound of a chair scratching across the wooden floor met Baekhyun’s ears as the guy across Kai abruptly stood up, outrage written over his face full of wrinkles, his thin lips pulled into a sneer. 

“This is bullshit!” The older man roared across the table as his large hands slammed onto the table full of cards, the alcohol in the glasses shook with the impact, his malevolent gaze burning through Kai. 

Kai’s plush lips curved into a smirk, it made him appear like the epitome of cunning. His taunting smile would make anyone in the club fall to their knees and beg for forgiveness, it even made Baekhyun scared. He would hate to be on the receiving end of that smirk. 

“There is no way I am losing this much money to you! I refuse to lose!” The man yelled, his loud voice didn’t reach the ears of those young people who were dancing, the only thing they could hear in their drunk state was the loud bass that flowed through everyone in the club. 

The smirk still remained on Kai’s model-like face as his opponent was losing his temper, he was satisfied. 

“Speak, you asshole!” He screamed at Kai. The old man looked like he was about to pull his hair out, the silence from Kai was killing him. 

Kai grinned, “I win.”

That seemed to pull the old man’s last straw because before Baekhyun could react a gun was pulled out and fired towards Kai. The bullet seemed to shake everyone out of the trance the blaring music created because the club turned into chaos. People were screaming, rushing to get out of the club, away from the strobe lights, and far from the gun fight that was happening. 

Baekhyun pushed through the crowd and rushed to Kai who was gathering the money like he had all the time in the world, across the table there were men on top of his opponent beating him up. Baekhyun got taken out of his shocked trance when he got shoved into Kai from all the bodies rushing around them. 

“Come on, we don’t have all day! We have to get out of here before the cops arrive!” Baekhyun yelled over the commotion, Kai didn’t seem to hear him because he kept collecting the money with poise. 

“Kai-“ Baekhyun got cut off as he got pulled into the panicking crowd behind him. Just as he got whisked away his eyes caught a body behind Kai on the club floor, lying in blood, a bullet hole in their chest. The guy missed his shot and killed a random bystander, Baekhyun’s heart sunk. 

Baekhyun got pushed to the front entrance with all the sweaty bodies and finally made it outside. Fresh air filled his lungs, replacing the cigarette smoke that permeated inside. He hated the smell of cigarettes. 

The loud sound of another bullet brought Baekhyun out of his daze, he had no time to rest. He quickly forced his legs to run, he had to get away from the club before he ended up like the other victim. He didn’t want to die. 

Everyone outside the club scattered like ants, people were running down the dark streets aimlessly, trying to escape the dangerous fight. 

Baekhyun ran down the sidewalk, away from the club. He didn’t have a destination in mind, he just needed to get away from the scene. 

He broke away from the group of people that were running in the same direction as him and turned a corner down a different road. When he ran around the corner his small frame collided with another body. 

A yelp escaped Baekhyun’s lips as he quickly cradled his nose from the impact. 

“I’m so sorry,” the person apologized. Baekhyun recognized the voice right away, he snapped his head up to look at his friend. 

“Jongdae? What are you doing out this late?”

Baekhyun grasped Jongdae’s shoulders to keep his balance. He was a bit disoriented from the impact, his face got smashed into Jongdae’s chest and it hurt. 

“I was getting chips.”

“Baekhyun!” Kai called into the air, Baekhyun froze. He forgot he came here with Kai, his partner completely slipped from his mind. Baekhyun had to get Jongdae out of here, Jongdae couldn’t know who Baekhyun was now. 

“Dae, l-lets go to your place and watch a movie!” Baekhyun tried to act excited while on the inside he was panicking, he was hiding it behind his light laugh. 

“Who’s calling your name?” Jongdae asked. 

Baekhyun started dragging Jongdae down the street by his wrist despite his friend’s nonstop complaints and questions, Jongdae was stumbling over his legs to keep up with his friend’s fast pace. 

Jongdae lightly tugged on Baekhyun, trying to get his attention, “Baek, slow down.” 

His complaints went out Baekhyun’s other ear as he kept rushing to his friend’s apartment, where they would be safe, where Jongdae would be safe. 

Baekhyun’s phone kept buzzing in his pocket, he was getting multiple phone calls and messages. Jongdae noticed right away. 

“Aren’t you going to answer those?”

“No.”

“It seems important.” 

“They can wait,” they took the elevator up to Jongdae’s apartment and Baekhyun felt like he could finally let his guard down. They were safe. 

When they entered Jongdae’s apartment, Baekhyun quickly excused himself to the washroom, he needed to answer the texts. 

_ Kai: Baekhyun where did u go??? _

_ Kai: Hello? Baek wtf answer this isn’t funny _

_ Kai: I’m calling Chanyeol you r worrying me _

(6 missed calls) Yeol

_ Yeol: Baek? Are you okay? Kai told me you aren’t responding and you disappeared from the scene? _

_ Yeol: Hello? Baekhyun this is serious if you don’t answer in the next 30 minutes I’m sending people to search for you.  _

Shit. Baekhyun didn’t think they would immediately think the worst, he’s only been gone for what felt like an hour. 

_ Baekhyun: I’m okay. Sorry for not answering, I’m busy right now _

Chanyeol’s reply came immediately. 

_ Yeol: Don’t ever do that again, where are you? We thought you got captured by the Dragons when you weren’t answering our texts and disappeared from the club _

Baekhyun felt the guilt settle in his stomach, he didn’t mean to worry them. 

_ Baekhyun: My bad, I’m at a friends, I’ll be back soon _

Baekhyun switched his phone to silent. He has been in the bathroom for too long and he needs to appear unsuspicious in his friend’s eyes. 

He walked into the living room and saw his friend turning on Netflix and lounging comfortably on the couch, surrounded by the light gray walls, “what are we watching tonight, Dae?” Baekhyun asked with excitement filling his tone, he missed movie nights with his friends, it would be just like old times if Kyungsoo was with them. 

At the very least, it would be like the old times for Jongdae. It would be harder for Kyungsoo and Baekhyun to ignore the fact that they are both hiding a secret from their oblivious friend. It would be really awkward. 

Baekhyun felt relieved Kyungsoo wasn’t here. 

“Probably a comedy, I need a laugh since uni’s been kicking my ass.”

  
  


————————————————————

  
  


The moment Baekhyun stepped foot into the mansion the next morning , he was bombarded with never ending questions. He felt like he was being smothered by paparazzi because a scandal broke out. 

“Baekhyun, where have you been?!”

“Are you okay?”

“Where did you go?”

“Why did you disappear last night?”

“Guys! Please stop!” Baekhyun yelled, his eyes were squeezed shut, he needed to calm down and they weren’t helping by interrogating him. 

“You can’t just disappear like that without telling us your whereabouts, there are consequences on the line, we can’t risk such a dumb mistake like that.” Suho scolded. It made Baekhyun want to die in a hole being scolded by the second in command, and in front of the whole group. 

“Well, our apologies. We were just so fucking worried.” Sehun complained, his sculpted eyebrow arching. “You scared us, we thought the Dragons kidnapped you!”

All this talk about the Dragons when they couldn't even afford to tell him who those people were and why Exodus feared them so much. It's about time that he gets to find out after being kept in the dark. 

“Who even are the Dragons?”

Everyone stared at Baekhyun in silence. Kyungsoo was fiddling with his fingers, Kai was chewing on his bottom lip. No one dared to speak; Baekhyun hated the silence. 

“They are the biggest mafia in China, Kris Wu is their current leader,” Chanyeol unexpectedly answered from the stairs. Baekhyun clenched his jaw when he saw the leader, he could see a storm brewing in his chocolate brown eyes, “our biggest rivals.”

The sudden appearance of Chanyeol made Baekhyun’s heart rate increase, he looked handsome. He had a pair of thin-rimmed glasses perched on his nose, his hair was damp and he was dressed casually. 

Chanyeol always looked handsome, always looked like a model that came off a runway no matter what he was wearing. He would probably still look like his best even at his worst. 

Chanyeol was perfect in Baekhyun’s eyes. 

Baekhyun nodded slowly, gathering the courage to speak, “didn’t mean to disappear yesterday. I got carried away, it won’t happen again.”

Baekhyun’s eyes were dropped to the shiny marble floor beneath his boots, the floor was spotless and he could see his reflection. 

When he didn’t get a response from the leader he looked up and saw the man nowhere in his sight, he disappeared. Everyone else scattered off to do their own thing, leaving Baekhyun to himself once again. 

It was obvious Chanyeol was mad at Baekhyun. Mad for not answering his calls, mad for leaving Kai alone. His one job was to keep the gambler safe and he compromised that by leaving the club. Kai was okay but Baekhyun still disobeyed a direct order from Chanyeol; of course, the taller was ticked off by Baekhyun’s defiance. 

Baekhyun didn’t think he’d have to apologize to Chanyeol so soon but what was he supposed to do? He couldn’t leave the tension to hang in the air, it would eat him alive from the inside. 

Baekhyun quickly got an expensive bottle of red wine from the fridge and was immediately making a beeline to the large staircase.

He swallowed his pride and walked with purpose to the leader’s office, passing the intimidating paintings on the way, intimidating because they screamed wealth to anyone who laid eyes on them. He knocked on the large wooden door and didn’t get a response, the room wasn’t occupied.

The boy racked his brain on where the taller could be, his mind immediately went to the garden but a different thought got pushed to the front of his mind.

He wondered if Chanyeol was in his room, was Baekhyun allowed to go in there? He hasn’t stepped foot into that room since the night he consoled Chanyeol, the night Baekhyun witnessed the vulnerable side of the man, the side he kept hidden. 

Although it wasn’t the time or situation to be thinking about Chanyeol’s type, he couldn’t help but let his mind drift to the thought as he made his way to the man’s room. He automatically assumed that Chanyeol’s type would be someone like him, someone that was powerful, wealthy, fearless, and perfect. 

Maybe Chanyeol’s type was everything Baekhyun wasn’t. 

With a heavy heart, he knocked on the door and got a delayed response. 

“Come in.”

Baekhyun slowly opened the door and saw Chanyeol lounging on his king-size bed, wearing sweatpants and was shirtless. He looked like a king that made people weak to their knees, a greek god even. It was going to be a challenge for Baekhyun to keep his eyes off the taller’s chest. 

The smaller snapped his eyes up when he heard Chanyeol clearing his throat, Baekhyun’s cheeks that were quickly turning red were a dead give away that he was staring at the taller’s chest. 

Baekhyun shifted awkwardly in the doorframe, an unsure smile stretched across his face as he presented the wine bottle that he was hiding behind his back. 

“I brought wine.”

  
  


————————————————————

  
  


There was something about romance books that pulled Baekhyun in and held him hostage until he finished the story. 

Maybe it was the little quirks the characters had. Maybe it was the little burst of excitement that filled him when the first kiss was initiated. Maybe it was when the couple had a happy ending that made him feel like his heart was going to burst, made his heart yearn for that happy ending. 

Baekhyun’s once dull room now had a bookshelf that was full of books and made his room vibrant. 

The boy’s eyes were glued to the book in his grasp. He was on his bed leaning against his pillows, he’d been in this position for hours and wasn’t uncomfortable. 

The bedroom door opened as Baekhyun continued to read, he was so entranced in his book he didn’t notice someone walk up to his bed. 

“Happy birthday,” Chanyeol’s deep voice broke Baekhyun’s trance, he blinked and looked up at the man. 

Chanyeol was wearing his glasses, his hand was fidgeting by his side. In his other hand, he showcased a book to Baekhyun. 

“What’s this?” Baekhyun set his book down, giving his full attention to Chanyeol. The taller chewed his lip and held out the book for Baekhyun to take. 

“I got this for you, as a present,” Chanyeol explained and as soon as Baekhyun took the book into his hands, the taller immediately started twisting his rings around, “I’ve noticed you liked reading.”

Baekhyun stared at the cover, it was a romance book with many pages waiting to be read by Baekhyun’s bright eyes. 

“My birthday is next week,” Baekhyun said. He started to blink away the tears forming in his eyes. 

“I thought it was today?”

Baekhyun giggled. Even if Chanyeol got the day wrong, the thought was there and appreciated. 

“Thank you, you didn’t have to get me anything.” 

“I wanted to,” Chanyeol said as Baekhyun lifted his head up to see Chanyeol smiling down at him. Not the boyish smile, it was a smile that looked warm. 

It made Baekhyun feel warm on the inside. 

“Late night wine?” Baekhyun asked, Chanyeol nodded and headed to the balcony in the room as Baekhyun grabbed the wine on his desk, following the taller outside. 

When the cool night air met Baekhyun’s skin, an unsettling odor met his nose. 

Chanyeol was leaning against the marble railing, back facing Baekhyun, breeze running through his hair. 

Baekhyun wasn’t sure what was more elegant, the expensive railing or the man in front of him. Chanyeol could be compared to the royal family and he’d be more elegant in Baekhyun’s eyes. 

As they stood side by side with their arms touching, facing the garden beneath them, the odor still remained and it was bothering Baekhyun. 

The smaller finally drifted his eyes to the man beside him and saw a blunt hanging from his lips, smoke emitting from the corners of his mouth. He looked like he was breathing fire as if there was a fire burning inside him, a real phoenix. 

“You smoke?” Baekhyun asked, his eyes were flickering between the taller’s lips and his eyes as he waited for a response. 

Chanyeol inhaled the drug smoothly and slowly exhaled, watching the smoke dance in the darkness. 

“I’ve been smoking for years.”

“Why?”

Chanyeol huffed, an amused smile forming on his face, “do you expect me to tell you all of my secrets?”

“I didn’t know it was a secret.” Baekhyun chuckled. 

Chanyeol hummed as if he was agreeing with Baekhyun, “well, I’ll let you in on this one secret since you’re dying to know, I’m not that cruel.”

Baekhyun stifled a laugh and took the first swig from the bottle, hiding his smile from the taller’s view. 

“I started when I was fifteen,” Chanyeol started, taking another drag from the blunt, the burning end glowed with his actions, “I don’t know if you can relate but it makes me happy, makes me feel weightless‒makes me feel free.”

Once again, Baekhyun opened his mouth before his mind, “free from your past?”

Baekhyun felt immediate regret, it’s like his mind was against him. It let him say that aloud to the taller even though he knew it was a touchy subject for the man. 

Taboo even. 

When the silence started to become unbearable Baekhyun started to ramble uncontrollably, his nerves were on haywire and he unconsciously started toying with his hands. 

Chanyeol remained unresponsive. 

“That was rude of me, I shouldn’t have asked-“

“Yes, it makes me feel free from my past,” Chanyeol cut him off, stealing the bottle from Baekhyun’s loose grasp and gulping down the liquid.

Baekhyun’s eyes watched Chanyeol’s adam’s apple as he downed the bottle, repressed longing and eros flooded him. 

He wanted Chanyeol but he didn’t know if Chanyeol wanted him back. He didn’t know if Chanyeol’s feelings mirrored his own, the recurring feeling in his chest, the warmth he feels when the other smiles, the feeling of being safe in his presence, the feeling of genuine happiness. 

The feeling of wanting to be wanted and needed by the other. 

“Have you ever thought of quitting?”

“Nothing has made me want to quit,” Chanyeol stated, setting the almost empty bottle on the railing. 

Something inside Baekhyun told him that this was the perfect time to confess, they were alone and Baekhyun had liquid confidence running through him. 

If Baekhyun didn’t confess how he felt for the taller the feeling of not knowing would consume him and make him anxious, he would become restless. 

He needed to get this weight off his chest. Baekhyun turned to face the taller, the other was staring at the dark scenery in the distance, he looked to be lost in thought, at peace with his mind.

It was now or never. 

Chanyeol must have noticed he was being watched because he faced Baekhyun, his dark eyes meeting Baekhyun’s and he wanted to be lost in them forever; they were mesmerizing. Their faces slowly inched closer, Baekhyun was the only one leaning forward while Chanyeol was frozen in his spot. 

After the distance was closed, Baekhyun was impatient to be united in the middle. At last, they finally met; his plush lips collided with the taller’s lips and the feeling almost made Baekhyun lose his balance. His limbs became numb and jittery as his nerves were on haywire.

Baekhyun’s lips were the only ones moving for a couple of seconds and Baekhyun almost pulled away, afraid his actions were only one sided but he was caught by surprise when he felt the light pressure of Chanyeol’s lips meeting his movements. It was very faint that Baekhyun almost didn’t feel it but he knew it was real when large hands grabbed his hips and were pulling him closer. 

Slowly their lips moved in sync, their lips fit perfectly together like they were puzzle pieces

This was hands down the best moment in his life, nothing could come close to the happiness Baekhyun was feeling. 

But his happiness couldn’t last forever because the hands that were once pulling him closer were now pushing him away. 

Confusion was written all over Baekhyun’s face. When he looked up at the taller, he became even more confused because he looked conflicted, like he was fighting with himself. 

“I like you,” Baekhyun blurted out, the following weight that lifted off Baekhyun was a lot; he felt like he could breathe. 

“Excuse me?” Chanyeol asked. The coldness in his voice returned after so long and Baekhyun felt so exposed, like Chanyeol could see right through him. 

“I like you, a lot,” Baekhyun breathed out while avoiding eye contact. He wanted the wind to take him away, help him disappear from this situation he created. 

It was too late to turn back now, he should’ve kept his mouth closed. From the response he got from Chanyeol, he knew it only went downhill from here. 

And it hurt. 

The chuckle that escaped Chanyeol’s plush lips sent shivers down Baekhyun’s spine, it made tears appear in his eyes. “You shouldn’t like me because I don’t like you.”

Baekhyun’s heart shattered, his ribcage couldn’t even protect his heart from the bullet Chanyeol shot at it, the pieces scattered and cut into his insides. There were so many pieces it would be impossible to fix, the pain that followed seeped into his bones, sticking itself to him. 

It was permanent, always there. 

The man who broke his heart turned around without sparing the frozen boy a glance, the sound of a door slamming brought Baekhyun back to the present. 

The tears were streaming down his sullen face. His lungs contracted, denying the entrance of oxygen. 

Baekhyun was so stupid to think Chanyeol would want him when his own parents didn’t. 

Chanyeol was the water in his lungs. 

The boy experienced his second heartbreak that night and he had no one he could turn to. He was alone. 

Baekhyun felt asphyxiated. 

  
  


————————————————————

  
  


To say it was awkward these past few weeks was an understatement. Chanyeol couldn’t even look at Baekhyun anymore, he had to get the others to send messages from him to the smaller and every time one of the members came to find Baekhyun and recited a message or order to him, it pushed the knife further into Baekhyun’s chest. 

Baekhyun wondered if the members sensed the tension, if they could see the shift in Baekhyun and Chanyeol’s former relationship—their growing friendship was now brought to a halt. 

All because Baekhyun couldn’t keep his mouth shut. 

The smaller was trying to lose himself in the book Chanyeol gave him, it was good so far but he couldn’t stop thinking about how the taller rejected him. 

He was trying to mask the pain in his heart with the protagonists in the book. Although their relationship was cliché, it still made Baekhyun smile. 

Kyungsoo and Sehun were occupying him in the large living room, the television blaring in the background mixing with Sehun’s laughter, a comedy movie was playing. 

Today seemed to be mild, no one amongst the three have got any new orders from their boss yet. The only ones who were busy today were Kai and Xiumin. 

Just as Baekhyun turned the page in his book someone entered the living room. 

It was Chanyeol. 

“D.O I need-” As soon as Chanyeol’s eyes found their way to Baekhyun, he turned around and left like he wasn’t just there about to give an order. 

While the other two were busy gawking, Baekhyun was trying his hardest to keep his tears at bay. 

“What the fuck,” Sehun was the first to speak after the weird event that unfolded before their eyes, “that was the most un-boss-like thing he has ever done.”

Baekhyun watched as Kyungsoo rolled his eyes at Sehun’s remark, “that is besides the point, what happened between you and Chanyeol?”

Baekhyun wasn’t even surprised Kyungsoo caught on quickly, he always knew when something was wrong with the younger. 

Baekhyun sighed, there was no point trying to lie, “I said something I shouldn’t have.”

“Well, what did you say?”

“I uh,” Baekhyun paused. He contemplated if he should tell them, he didn’t want to be judged, he would feel even worse, “I said I liked him.”

Both of their eyes were wide as saucers, Baekhyun thought Kyungsoo looked even more like an owl. 

“You like our boss?!” Sehun yelled. Baekhyun hoped nobody was around, he was sure Sehun’s voice echoed throughout the mansion. 

“Shut up!” Baekhyun screeched, he was counting on his lucky stars that no one was around. This was going to be an embarrassing conversation. 

Kyungsoo laughed, his black hair falling in front of his eyes,“you seriously didn’t know, Sehun? It was so obvious.”

“You knew, Soo?!” Baekhyun asked in disbelief. He didn’t think he was that obvious, he thought he did a good job at keeping it unknown, he was obviously wrong. 

“Who do you think I am? Of course I knew about it, Baekhyun,” Kyungsoo said, standing up fixing his messy hair, “anyways, I am going to see what he needs.”

As Kyungsoo walked away from the two stunned boys, leaving them alone to bask in their own disbelief, Baekhyun was even more convinced that he couldn’t hide anything from his friend. 

It stitched up Baekhyun’s bleeding wounds to know his friend still cared and paid attention to the smaller.

He would heal, in time. 

  
  
  
  


Baekhyun forgot about his initial position in Exodus but apparently someone didn’t because he was reminded about it yesterday. Now the smaller was being brought to a meeting that was guaranteed to end in a shootout for him to do his intended role—be a human shield. 

As terrifying as the role sounded, they equipped him with the basic weapons and a bulletproof vest. The protection gear didn’t help ease his mind, he was still shaking, on the verge of running away but he couldn’t. They wouldn’t let him leave, he was oathed to live and die by the knife and gun. 

Baekhyun was accompanying Chanyeol and Sehun at the meeting, he was told not to speak and not to mess up. 

Chanyeol told him indirectly though. He was holding Sehun’s gaze while giving the order, telling the both of them. 

The only thing Baekhyun wanted tonight was to make it out unscathed, for Chanyeol to make it out alive. 

He pulled his mask up to conceal his face. Sehun said he didn’t look intimidating without the lip ring and said the smaller resembled a puppy. 

He changed his whole look for Exodus and he still didn’t look the part. 

The wind whistled as the trio walked between the abandoned buildings, the large walls that seemed to never end made it feel like they were walking aimlessly through a labyrinth. It didn’t seem to bother the two taller men, they were walking casually like they owned the area, not letting a sign of intimidation seep past their expressions. 

They have mastered the poker face. 

Baekhyun was thankful to be wearing a mask that covered his trembling lips, the second time was never easier than the first. It would take a lot of effort and experience for Baekhyun to be able to consider this easy. 

Tonight they were meeting with a smaller gang who wanted Exodus’ protection, this small gang was known for their aggression and Chanyeol suspected that they were linked to the Dragons; the only reason why they were wasting their time on the gang known as Venom—Chanyeol referred to them as pitiful. 

The place they were meeting at wasn’t as big or discreet as the last meeting Baekhyun has been to, it was a run down building in the bad part of the city, a place you would expect illegal meet ups to take place. 

They reached a rusty steel door and Sehun knocked slowly three times, a brief pause followed before the door opened, revealing a man with a large scar that spanned across his grubby face. 

The man stepped aside and let the trio in, eyeing them all up. Baekhyun tried to ignore the prying eyes and observed the building. Boxes and crates littered the floor in stacks, the ceiling looked like it could cave in at any second and kill everyone underneath, holes were plotted among the wooden walls, and chipped paint accompanied the damage, almost like a complimentary factor to the wreckage. In the end, it was disgusting, to the regular person it appeared like squatters were living here. 

Three men were leaning against the walls adjacent to the entrance, their cold eyes never once leaving the newcomers. It was crazy to Baekhyun how he felt like the victim when these men should be cowering in their presence, they were Exodus after all. 

Chanyeol led them to the middle where a man almost as tall as him was standing, his posture perfect but incomparable to Chanyeol’s. 

“Phoenix.”

“I don’t have all day, cut to the chase.” 

The man huffed, irritation was written over his features. “Well, Venom would like your protection in exchange for ten percent of our income.”

Chanyeol folded his hands behind his back, as if he was contemplating the offer. Baekhyun knew better, Chanyeol had a plan up his sleeve, a plan only he knew of. This wasn’t part of the plan they ran through before they arrived‒ Chanyeol was going to just decline their offer and leave and as they left, Xiumin and Suho were going to follow Venom. If they ended up in the Dragons’ territory they would be picked off. 

“Hm, I must say that is an offer I can’t deny,” Chanyeol stated, his words had an underlying meaning that only he and Sehun were aware of, something was about to happen and they would be forced to fight. 

A victorious grin crossed the man’s face, “so, do we have a deal?”

Unconsciously, Baekhyun hovered his hand over where his pistol was hidden, he was ready for the upcoming storm. He stared down the man across from him who was oblivious to the mafia leader’s intentions, he was his first target. 

“Tell Kris Wu to save me a spot in hell.”

A bullet was shot by Sehun as the words left Chanyeol’s lips and they were now on the battlefield. Chanyeol quickly pulled his gun out of his back pocket and shot the guy at the far left of the room. Shots were fired back at them before they could even try to shoot the last two men. They quickly scattered towards the crates for cover as bullets whizzed past them. 

Baekhyun was split from the other two as they ran from the danger. Sehun and Chanyeol were immediately firing back at the two men when they were concealed behind the crates. 

The smaller was going to follow suit when his pistol was hit out of his hand and he was pushed into the wooden crates behind him. A large hand circled his throat as the attacker’s other hand tried to pin Baekhyun’s wrist. But the smaller quickly got his hands away from being bound and kicked the man on the groin before he lost any more air.

With the kick, the man doubled over and let go of his steel hold on Baekhyun’s neck. The smaller dropped to the ground to catch his breath, he felt like he was going to faint but he knew he had to recover before his attacker or he would lose the advantage of the fight. 

The man pulled out a pistol and aimed it at Baekhyun’s head before he could even stand up. Baekhyun felt the blood drain from his face, he swore he felt his heart drop to his stomach, he knew he was going to die. 

In defeat he closed his eyes and braced himself for his end, his eyes filled with tears as his thoughts filled with his friends, the experiences he will never have. And Chanyeol—the man who is always on his mind, the man he caught feelings for and weren’t reciprocated. 

He would die with a broken heart. 

A loud bang followed and Baekhyun felt no pain, he was glad death was painless. 

“Baekhyun!” Chanyeol yelled, Baekhyun thought it was weird how he could still hear Chanyeol, he never believed in an afterlife, maybe his beliefs were wrong. 

Large hands gripped his shoulders and started shaking him, “get up, we need to leave!”

Slowly he opened his eyes to see a teary eyed Chanyeol. “I’m not dead?” Baekhyun whispered in disbelief, he wanted to cry out of happiness, but he knew this wasn’t the time. 

“I shot the guy first,” Chanyeol explained as he helped Baekhyun off the floor and ushered him towards the exit. Sehun was already out the door and sprinting down the narrow alley, maybe he was going to get help, maybe he was running to save himself, either way he had no intention of turning around. 

In a daze he was being dragged out of the area by Chanyeol, he didn’t remember weaving through the various buildings or how they ended up in the car that was speeding down gravel roads away from the squatter building. 

“Are you okay?” Chanyeol asked, taking his eyes off the road to glance at the silent boy beside him. “Are you hurt anywhere?”

Baekhyun didn’t feel any pain anywhere, he only got hit a couple times but it was nothing fatal, “I’m okay.”

Gut-wrenching sobs filled the car and brought Baekhyun’s full attention to the man that was composed a minute ago but is now a mess behind the wheel. 

“Hey, pull over. You can’t drive in this state,” Baekhyun softly spoke, leaning over to touch the taller’s shaking arm gently. Chanyeol complied and pulled to the side of the road, cutting the engine off and letting his sobs be the only thing filling the silence. 

Baekhyun was genuinely confused, he didn’t know why Chanyeol was so emotional but he wasn’t judging, he was here for the taller even if the other wasn’t there for him. 

With Chanyeol being a mess Baekhyun thought the best way to comfort him would be a hug, leaning over he guided Chanyeol into his arms and the sobbing became louder as it ripped through his chest. His body was shaking in unsteady paces, his arms engulfed Baekhyun as if he was trying to ground himself, like Baekhyun was an anchor. 

Running his slender fingers through the platinum blonde hair, the crying died down. “I’m sorry,” Chanyeol whispered into Baekhyun’s shoulder, inhaling deeply he continued, “I didn’t mean to overreact like that when you kissed me.”

“It’s okay, no need to apologize,” he reassured, toying with the platinum locks. 

“No, it’s not okay. I like you too, Baekhyun,” Chanyeol confessed. Baekhyun was sure he was going crazy, he must have heard that wrong, “and I shouldn’t have reacted like that, it’s just that‒ I’m scared.” He murmured. 

Maybe he wasn’t crazy. 

“Scared of what?”

“Of losing you,” Chanyeol said, pulling away from Baekhyun’s embrace to look into his glossy eyes, “and it just hit me today that the only way I can lose you is if you’re not mine.”

“You won’t ever lose me, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun whispered, smiling lightly. 

This was the last thing he was expecting to happen tonight. Chanyeol’s confession felt like a dream, like it was too good to be true and he would wake up at any second, alone in his bed thinking about the fabrication his head made up, and he would be disappointed.

But a wave of realization hit Baekhyun, this was reality and not a false dream he concocted. 

Their faces became closer and this time, it wasn’t Baekhyun closing the space between them. 

Gently their lips molded together. Baekhyun’s soft lips contrasted Chanyeol’s rough lips but that’s what made the kiss even more blissful. Large hands adorned with cold rings cupped Baekhyun’s face, wiping the tears that have tried to sneak their way down his face. 

It’s like Chanyeol could sense that he was running out of air and needed to breathe because he pulled away, their faces were still inches apart. 

“Please,” Chanyeol breathed, his hot breath ghosted over Baekhyun’s lips, “let me make it up to you.”

“Of course,” their smiles mirrored each other’s, the world was their oyster, the problem with the Dragons was minor, a small inconvenience. They could face anything, as long as they had each other. 

Chanyeol’s ringing phone interrupted their intimate moment, a sigh left Chanyeol’s lips as he begrudgingly answered the call and put it on speaker. 

“What,” he deadpanned.

“Boss, where are you?”

“On my way back.”

“Well, thank you for leaving me behind.”

“What?”

“I got lost and when I realized you guys left me behind, I had to call Kai to come pick me up,” Sehun complained, whining for emphasis. 

“That’s what you get for leaving us.” 

He hung up, cutting off Sehun’s never ending complaints and started the car, “we should get back before they all freak out.”

And with that they sped down the road in the car, hands intertwined. 

That night when they were alone, he discovered Chanyeol had a tongue piercing.

  
  


————————————————————

  
  


They have been keeping their newly formed relationship off the radar and they’ve managed to keep it hidden for a week. Baekhyun expected someone to walk into his or Chanyeol’s room and see them cuddling, or catch them sleeping in the same bed, but it hasn’t happened—and he was relieved. 

As much as he wants them to be allowed to show their affection in public, Chanyeol deemed it to be dangerous, it was even a hazard to let the members know. Their situation was like this because Chanyeol was paranoid someone would take away the person he cared about the most. It happened before, it can happen again. 

Baekhyun respected the taller’s wishes, it was worth the thrill that came with having Chanyeol all to himself and nobody knowing. 

He could wait. 

But apparently the world couldn’t because when Chanyeol had Baekhyun pinned to the bed, littering his unblemished neck with kisses, the door to Baekhyun’s room opened and a shrill scream made them scramble away from each other. Sehun was standing by the doorway with his hand covering his open mouth, the shock was written on his face.

“Oh my god… “

“If you tell anyone, I will strangle you myself,” Chanyeol warned, getting off the bed and smoothing wrinkles from his suit. Sehun quickly nodded, bowing to show he had his word. 

“Don’t tell anyone, please,” Baekhyun pleaded as Chanyeol brushed past Sehun and out of the room. 

“I won’t, and congratulations,” Sehun smiled, turning around leaving Baekhyun to bask in his happiness alone, a giddy smile plastered on his face. 

“Thank you.”

Hours flew by and Baekhyun hadn’t seen Chanyeol all day, he was bored and was craving the taller’s touch. Ever since Sehun caught them and Chanyeol left him hanging on the bed, he couldn’t stop thinking about the feeling the taller gave him, the feeling of ecstasy. 

So he went to seek out Chanyeol, praying in his head that he wasn’t busy. He didn’t have to search for long because he found him at the first place he looked, the office. 

Chanyeol didn’t seem to notice him as he closed the door behind him, locking the door before he approached the other. His blonde hair looked like it was windswept, it was pushed back with some strands pointing in odd directions, it was obvious he was stressed. 

Baekhyun hoped to help him with that. 

He walked up to him behind the desk and leaned over his shoulder to see what he was looking at. Emails of conversations being sent back and forth, along with details and sign ups for street races were on the screen, “why are you stressed over a street race?”

Chanyeol sighed and leaned back into his chair, covering his face with his hands, “I don’t know, Suho really wants to attend this one to win the race to spite the Dragons, apparently Tao is supposed to be racing that night.”

Baekhyun hummed as he slipped onto Chanyeol’s lap, straddling his legs, “can I keep you company?”

“Of course,” Chanyeol went back to work with Baekhyun attached to him, it wasn’t an obstacle for the taller. But Baekhyun had other plans in mind, he wanted to create a distraction. 

That’s what led him to planting various kisses on his neck, sucking some parts longer than others to leave a mark. Chanyeol’s breathing became laboured when Baekhyun started subtly grinding on him, the fierce grip on his hips told him Chanyeol’s full attention was on him. 

“Baekhyun,” Chanyeol warned, sliding his hands to his ass and squeezing, “if you don’t stop now, I won’t be able to stop myself from fucking you on my desk.”

“Go ahead, then,” Baekhyun challenged, smirking to provoke the other. 

And with those words being spoken he got picked up and pinned on the hard desk, pens flew off along with some papers. Any other time he would’ve complained about the ache in his back from the uncomfortable surface, but the hands pulling his shirt up and the cold rings touching his skin had him shivering for more. 

Chanyeol pulled off both of their shirts with ease, revealing his tattoos; he had a crown of thorns around his bicep, a phoenix on his back, and various other tattoos that Baekhyun couldn’t admire because Chanyeol started attacking his lips. 

He pushed past Baekhyun’s lips quickly and their tongues tangled together, the sensation of Chanyeol’s tongue piercing made the experience more exciting, Baekhyun wondered what it would feel like on his erection. The sinful thought went straight to his groin, bringing a muffled moan out of him. 

Chanyeol unattached their swollen lips, trailing kisses down his face to his neck, adding to his collection of hickeys. Baekhyun’s fingers worked on Chanyeol’s pants as he worked on marking his neck. 

He successfully discarded Chanyeol's pants, he could see his size through his boxers, it was bigger than he expected. The urge to wrap his mouth around it was insistent, he’d have to wait to find out how the tongue piercing felt on his dick for another day. 

After quickly slipping out of his pants he got on his knees, looking up at the man who had a hazy look on his face, “can I suck your dick?”

Chanyeol hummed in agreement, leaning back on the chair to watch the show before him. Baekhyun licked his lips in anticipation, he has never given head before, but he had a brief idea of how to thanks to porn videos.

He pulled Chanyeol’s briefs down, exposing his red tip to the air. He discarded the briefs, throwing them to the side and experimentally brought his hand to the tip, smearing the precum around the head,

“Fuck, stop teasing baby.” Chanyeol panted. He tangled his fingers in Baekhyun’s hair, silently encouraging him to use his mouth.

Baekhyun took the hint and brought his mouth to the head, slowly wrapping his lips around it. Chanyeol’s grip tightened as he groaned in satisfaction. The sounds Baekhyun brought out of the other encouraged him to bring more into his mouth, he lowered his head, having a good amount surrounded by his mouth before he pulled back slowly. He kept repeating the action, except going faster and it seemed to bring Chanyeol pleasure because he wouldn’t stop moaning and praising Baekhyun, telling him he was doing a good job. 

Just as the grip on his hair started to tighten he was pulled away. The blissed out face Chanyeol had said it all. “Although it would be nice to cum in your mouth, I have other plans.”

He gestured for Baekhyun to get off the floor, and the moment he was on his feet he was pushed against the desk behind him, sitting on the various papers. Chanyeol’s hands were running along his thighs. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

“Yes.” Baekhyun breathed out. He has never been so sure in his life, he was ready.

Breathtaking kisses followed after his blessing, he didn’t remember Chanyeol taking off his briefs, he didn’t remember being pushed on his back, he didn’t remember Chanyeol prepping him with his long fingers, he was distracted by the kisses he was receiving. But when he felt Chanyeol’s length pushing past his tight rim inch by inch he whined from the pain.

Chanyeol peppered kisses along his neck to help distract him from the pain. After what felt like forever Chanyeol was bottomed out, and the groan that fell from his lips made Baekhyun want to hear more.

“You can move.” Baekhyun said through his gritted teeth. He started off slowly, being mindful of Baekhyun still adjusting to his size. But soon after the pain was masked with pleasure, and Baekhyun was begging for more.

Baekhyun’s loud moans filled the four corners of the room along with the sound of skin coming in contact, he just hoped this room was soundproof. He was gripping papers beneath him for purchase, the coil in his stomach became more prominent, and he tightened around Chanyeol’s length. He was close.

Chanyeol wrapped his hand around Baekhyun’s leaking cock and started pumping it in sync with his thrusts. The pleasure was intense and with a couple more thrusts Baekhyun was brought to his climax, a lewd sound leaving his mouth. His release coated both of their stomachs. Chanyeol followed soon after, his thrusts became sloppy as he released inside Baekhyun.

Their sweaty bodies stayed connected and breathing filled the silence as they both tried to recover from their orgasms. 

“I love you.” Chanyeol said, pressing a soft kiss to Baekhyun’s forehead.

The words made Baekhyun smile as he replied back.

“I love you too.”

  
  


————————————————————

  
  


Today was a special day for Baekhyun and Chanyeol. 

The ride to meet Chanyeol’s family was silent. It was just Chanyeol, Baekhyun, the roar of the engine, and the road. It was an annual event to visit them on their birthdays, Chanyeol never had much time to visit so he always cherished these moments. 

After the car was parked, they walked onto a gravel path side-by-side, hands brushing. Beautiful wild flowers scattered along the grass, adding colour to the area. 

“Hello mother, hello father.”

Today was Mrs. Park’s birthday, she would be fifty-three today. 

“Happy birthday,” Chanyeol whispered, letting a tear slide down his face as he gently placed the daffodils beside the tombstone that had her name engraved on it. Beside hers was Mr. Park’s and on the other side was Yoora’s. They were all together, and Chanyeol planned to be buried with them too when his time came. 

“I miss you guys so much,” he said, kneeling to run his hand across the stone, almost like his mother was actually there in front of him. 

Baekhyun respectfully let them sit in silence, letting Chanyeol have some alone time to soak up the moment. He wouldn’t be back for another year, his mother’s birthday was the last between the three. 

Baekhyun sniffled, watching the scene unfold in front of him, trying to hold back his tears, “you’re such a great son.”

The blonde looked back at him, getting up from the ground to embrace Baekhyun. “My parents would've loved you,” he whispered into his hair, pressing a kiss on the top of his head, “let’s go home.”

With content hearts, they returned home. 

Their plans to relax that night consisted of watching television with a bottle of wine but that plan was promptly ruined when they were greeted by a huge commotion at the mansion. Everyone was yelling, pacing around the house like there was a fire and they didn’t know where the exit was; it was pandemonium. Chanyeol held Baekhyun’s hand to steel himself for the inevitable. 

“What’s going on here,” Chanyeol yelled over the commotion. The panicked group stopped in their places, looking at their boss, and Baekhyun saw them glancing at their intertwined hands. He immediately tried to pull their hands apart but Chanyeol tightened his grip on his hand. 

Xiumin was the first to get his act together, “boss, somehow the whereabouts of our client got out and when Sehun and I went to go receive the money he was dead at his doorway,” he pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and handed it to their boss, “this was on his corpse.”

Chanyeol swiped the piece of paper from Xiumin, some dried blood stains covered the words but it was still readable. 

The note read ‘Thanks for the money’ with a dragon stamp on the corner. The note got crumpled in Chanyeol’s large palm before he threw it on the ground. Kai quickly ran to pick up the ruined balled up paper, slipping it in his pocket for later as evidence. 

“Our client's information is classified, only members of Exodus know the details of intel,” Chanyeol started, his eyes ran across the room, staring down every member with intent. 

“There’s a rat in Exodus,” he declared, squeezing Baekhyun’s hand before letting go of it.

Gasps filled the room as everyone sported a shocked expression, this was the last thing they were expecting. Baekhyun’s mind immediately went to a spy from the outside but a rat on the inside was absurd. Everyone in Exodus seemed loyal, it was hard to imagine one of them as two-faced. 

“What?” Sehun asked, “how can that be possible?” 

“It’s not hard to wrap your head around.” Chanyeol scoffed, crossing his arms. “For now, everyone is a suspect.”

Prying eyes clouded by questions and confusion filtered around the room, everyone was wary of each other, trust was thrown out the window. 

“Xiumin and D.O, come with me,” Chanyeol commanded, walking up the stairs to his office followed by the two smaller men. 

Baekhyun knew Chanyeol was determined, he wouldn’t rest until he caught the rat, and when he caught them he would have to put feelings aside and off the traitor. 

Baekhyun wasn’t looking forward to that day. 

  
  


————————————————————

  
  


The plan was simple. 

Chanyeol would set up an urgent and important deal, making sure to emphasize those points. He would have Xiumin and D.O lurking behind the cameras and shadows, and the rat would reveal itself.

The week after Chanyeol announced the problem, he told the members that they will continue the following days as if they were any other normal day. 

He was hellbent on catching the rat as quickly as possible, because if they pushed this aside for any longer it could affect their rank in the world hidden from the public. The empire he built under the noses of the law could be jeopardized. 

The strategy was if the rat managed to get past their plan, it would narrow it down to the hacker or the hitman. Chanyeol was sure this plan would be successful, he had Xiumin and D.O ‘leave’ Korea for a heist in America for a week. This would make the rat less tense, and hopefully more reckless. 

He wanted to finish this tonight and Baekhyun hoped they would. 

Ever since they discovered there was a rat in the group Chanyeol hasn’t been himself. He has been tense, angry, and got no sleep due to stress. Baekhyun tried to lessen the amount of stress Chanyeol was dealing with, he tried offering help, tried giving him space, he even tried to get him wine-drunk, but the stubborn man refused every offer. 

Now that the time for them to put the plan into action was nearing, Baekhyun felt anxious. It was like it was his first mission all over again, the anxiety and worry was back to flutter around his body like butterflies. 

The preparation stage passed by in a blur. They got dressed, equipped themselves with weapons, and were now on their way to the abandoned building just outside the bustling city. 

Tonight it was just Baekhyun and Chanyeol against the world, the leader told the others to stay at the homebase, only two personnel needed to get the job done. 

And just like that they were at the barren field with a large building in the middle, a perfect place for a gathering between lethal people. 

”Are you ready?” Baekhyun asked, turning to face the solemn blonde. This time it was Baekhyun asking, he knew the events tonight would have an impact on Chanyeol. He might be finding out who had gone against him; they were supposed to be family. 

Chanyeol lightly smiled, it didn’t reach his eyes. “As ready as I’ll ever be,” with a sigh he reached over to grab Baekhyun's hand, squeezing it to comfort the smaller or maybe even to comfort himself, “let's get this over with.”

They got out of the car and walked to the damaged building. With time came change and the building was no exception, precise to half-assed graffiti covered the walls, the doors were off the hinges and lying on the ground, glass scattered among the floor with litter, Baekhyun even heard birds chirping and the thudding of their wings; it sounded like miniature thunder. He wouldn’t be surprised if wild animals have made this secluded place their home. 

They trudged through the wreckage in the building and made it to the vast opening in the heart of the building. Conveniently, some light from the setting sun reached the room they were occupying, it helped them navigate their surroundings and identify any people who arrived. 

By now, Xiumin and D.O will be getting into position. D.O would be their eyes through the cameras and Xiumin would be their eyes from afar. 

Now all they had left to do was sit and wait. 

They weren’t left to mentally prepare themselves for long because D.O’s serious voice cut through the earpiece they were both wearing, “I see movement, someone is approaching the building.”

Baekhyun saw Chanyeol gulp, he has never seen the other so nervous, usually he masked it with his intimidating aura or he just wasn’t phased by the situation at all. Under the current circumstances anyone would feel the same way. 

Their eyes caught each other’s gaze, Chanyeol nodded like he was trying to tell him he was ready. 

“Boss… I think you should hear this,” D.O hesitated but promptly changed the audio from the earpieces to the audio that was coming from the cameras outside the building. 

“The rest are on their way, be safe babe,” they heard a distant voice coming through a phone, it sounded like the Dragon’s leader. 

It was like Chanyeol stopped breathing when he heard the next voice, it was the last person they all expected. 

“Yes, I always am.”

His second in command. 

Suho. 

The betrayal that crossed Chanyeol’s face was heartbreaking, his lip quivered as his eyes became glossy. Suho has been by Chanyeol’s side since the beginning of Exodus, he was supposed to be his older brother. 

Brothers don’t stab each other in the back. 

Baekhyun put his hand on the taller’s shoulder, trying to comfort him from the blow to the face he just took, “we can always turn around and do this when you’re ready.”

Chanyeol shook his head, creasing his eyebrows. “No, I’m ready,” he insisted, “just follow my lead.”

The unspoken agreement hung in the tense air, they only had one shot to get this right. 

“If anything happens that puts your life in danger, you have to run,” Chanyeol commanded, looking straight into Baekhyun’s scared eyes. He knew Baekhyun wouldn’t listen to what he was requesting. 

“I’m not going to leave you,” Baekhyun retorted back, crossing his arms to finalize his decision. 

“Please, Baekhyun, you have to promise me.”

“We go together or we don’t go down at all,” Baekhyun said, the determination was written all over his face, seeping through his voice to show Chanyeol how stubborn he was. He wasn’t leaving Chanyeol to die by himself. 

Chanyeol sighed to force back a smile, reluctantly holding his hand out to his partner, and Baekhyun quickly intertwined their hands, finalizing their silent deal. The cold rings against his warm hand reminded him that this was really happening, it was do or die. 

The footsteps approaching them made them release their hands, turning towards the sound of shoes crunching against the glass pieces on the ground. Time seemed to slow down as the red haired man emerged from the shadows, he was wearing a friendly smile as he tried to play innocent. 

“What are you doing here, Suho?” Chanyeol asked, “I instructed everyone to stay at the base.”

Suho glanced at Baekhyun before returning his eyes on their boss, “I just got informed that the Dragons are on their way here. No one back at base could get a hold of you so I decided to deliver the news personally.”

“Let’s get out of here,” Chanyeol sauntered towards the exit, being followed by the other two. Baekhyun didn’t know what they were going to do, he was in the dark, not knowing Chanyeol’s next move. 

When they made it to Chanyeol’s vehicle they noticed the tires were slashed. The two partners were aware of who did it but couldn’t make it obvious. 

“Fuck!” Chanyeol cursed, kicking his expensive car’s door. 

“My car is just around the corner,” Suho suggested, walking ahead, leaving them to follow him. Baekhyun took the chance to glance at Chanyeol with worried eyes but Chanyeol just nodded, telling him to follow his lead. 

They made it to Suho’s black car, Chanyeol sat in the passenger seat while Baekhyun sat directly behind Suho. The engine revved to life and they were gone. The car glided down the roads, the only sound was the quiet songs on the radio and Suho’s humming. 

The atmosphere was filled with silence from the three people until Baekhyun and Chanyeol noticed Suho took a wrong turn, leading them away from the base. Baekhyun took a shallow breath, trying to hide his nervousness from the driver. 

Chanyeol turned his body to face Baekhyun, the look in his eyes said it all, “hey Baekhyun, do you have my phone?”

With Chanyeol’s silent signal Baekhyun hooked his arm around Suho’s neck, cutting off his airway. With his other free hand he opened the driver’s door, ignoring the rough hands hitting his arm, trying to loosen his grip. He leaned over the headrest of the seat to hold the door open, the car was still in motion so he was going against the strong gusts of the wind. 

He pushed the door open with all his might and Chanyeol pushed Suho out of the moving car. Chanyeol had his hand on the steering wheel as the car reduced it’s speed. The taller quickly moved into the driver’s seat, turning the car around and driving towards the man clutching his chest on the ground. 

The car came to a stop in front of the man. They both got out of the car, Baekhyun stayed behind Chanyeol as they got closer to the injured man, he had his hand on his gun ready to shoot. 

Suho coughed violently, spitting blood onto the concrete road beneath him. He rolled over onto his back, giving the two a view of his scratched up face. His skin was raw from the fall, blood was running down the side of his face too. He looked defeated. 

“Do you take me as a fool, Kim Junmyeon?” Chanyeol hissed, “did you think I wasn't going to find out it was you all along?”

Suho’s chuckles were cut short from the blood he was choking on. He leaned his head to the side to get rid of the interruption, “surprise.”

Chanyeol’s shoulders tensed as he lunged forward to kick Suho in the ribs, causing him to groan in pain and turn his body away from the duo. 

“You fucking asshole, now look where your decisions led you, it didn’t lead you to what you wanted,” Chanyeol spat, towering over the curled up body, he was in a fetal position trying to shield himself from Chanyeol’s wrath. 

“If you just gave the position of being the boss this wouldn’t have happened but no, you had to be a stubborn fucking child,” Suho scoffed behind his arms. 

“Heavy is the head that wears the crown, can you handle it?” Chanyeol challenged, his jaw clenching in rage, “you would have to carry a whole empire on your shoulders.”

“I would be a better leader than you ever were.” 

The sentence pulled Chanyeol’s last straw as he drew his gun from his holster, turning off the safety instantly. 

“Please, Chanyeol, we’re brothers. Don’t do this,” he begged, a complete change from his spiteful ploy seconds ago, looking up at Chanyeol with fake sympathy. Chanyeol found it amusing how fast his demeanour changed from an arrogant tyrant to a begging prisoner.

He saw Chanyeol as weak, but he wasn’t. He was the strongest person Baekhyun knew. 

Chanyeol clutched the gun, keeping his aim steady on the crying man’s face, “we were  _ never _ brothers.”

He pulled the trigger as his last tear fell down. 

  
  


————————————————————

  
  


Baekhyun was enveloped by applause from his classmates when he belted out the last note, the song he was performing was over and he was out of his focused trance. He smiled and bowed, showing his appreciation as he went to sit beside Jongdae. 

This was their last year in university, Baekhyun was graduating as a music major and Jongdae was graduating as a law major, he squeezed music into his schedule so he could have a class with his friend. 

After years of being lost in life, never knowing his path, he finally found his passion. He wanted to pursue music, he wanted to share his passion with people around the world, hopefully inspire some people along the way. 

His music class was the last one for today so after the teacher congratulated Baekhyun, he told the class to pack up and leave. 

“I’ll pick up the pizza on the way to your place this weekend,” Baekhyun said, collecting a laughing Jongdae in his arms. 

“Don’t forget to pick up Soo, he’s in charge of the alcohol, a very vital part to our sleepover,” Jongdae teased, a cheeky smile appearing on his face as he saluted to say goodbye to the raven-head. Baekhyun saluted back after giving Jongdae an overly dramatic eye roll. 

He made his way to his car, putting his school books in the passenger seat before starting the engine and driving home in his black Audi R8. 

The diamond ring on his finger gleamed in the sunlight as he clutched his fingers around the wheel, showcasing its expensive beauty to the world. 

The architecture of their home was everything Baekhyun ever wanted, it was modern and it felt like home. It was a nice change from the huge mansion he previously lived in. The feeling of driving up to his home that was in the outskirts of Seoul, hidden by growing and dying trees never got old, after many years he finally had a place to call home. 

The house was silent when he entered. Before he went upstairs, he grabbed a bottle of red wine. 

He found the blonde at the balcony in their shared room, leaning his back on the marble railing with his white dress shirt unbuttoned, hair tousled from his fingers running through them. 

“There’s my future star, the music industry is in for a surprise when you’re at the top of the charts,” Chanyeol greeted, giving the boyish smile Baekhyun loved; it was his favourite, “how was school, Mr. Park?”

Baekhyun chuckled, handing the taller the unopened bottle. “It’s been four years since we got married, you’re still going to call me that?” Chanyeol knew he was just joking, he knew Baekhyun liked when he called him that, it reminded them both that it was real and wasn’t a figment of their imagination. 

“Of course. I want the whole world to know that I married the most amazing man to ever walk this earth,” Chanyeol claimed, bringing the bottle to his lips to down the liquid. 

“You’re such a dork,” Baekhyun laughed, leaning his head on the other’s arm. 

“We have a meeting tonight with new customers from Tokyo,” Chanyeol said, pressing a chaste kiss to Baekhyun’s forehead. Baekhyun never quit Exodus, there was still the oath and Chanyeol wouldn’t let anyone bypass the oath. Baekhyun was okay with that. 

As the years flew by the Dragons’ legacy and reputation came crumbling down. After the news that Suho got killed in action, Kris Wu was soon eliminated by Exodus, they took advantage of his frail state knowing he would make mistakes with his decisions. So now the Dragons’ are nothing but a part of their past. 

He just had to remain anonymous in the underworld of gangs and mafias, or else their rivals would track him whenever he’s attending his classes and use him as leverage against Chanyeol. 

He went by the alias Apollo, the greek god of the sun. Chanyeol suggested it because he was his ‘light in the dark’ as Chanyeol put it. 

“Sounds good,” Baekhyun said, taking a swig from the shared bottle. 

Their small ritual before any mission or meeting was just words, because if anything were to happen at least they had the time to say their goodbyes. 

“Cross your heart and hope to die?” Baekhyun started, looking up at his husband; his world. 

“Cross my heart and hope to die.” Chanyeol finished, sealing the deal with a kiss. 

‘Cross your heart and hope to die‘ was their unspoken ‘I love you’.

Baekhyun’s life wasn’t mundane when he was with Chanyeol but he was okay with that. He could handle change for the taller and he knew Chanyeol would do the same for him. 

As long as Chanyeol was by his side, he would be happy. 


End file.
